Frozen in Darkness
by Data Girl 3
Summary: Just when it was looking as if the Nevengers could settle into an every-day life, they find themselves contending with two new arrivals within Storybrooke. First, an amnesiac woman with a magical control over ice and snow. Then a legendary but mysterious king, whose motives are shrouded in secrecy. Part 4 of the 'There's Always a Crisis' series.
1. The Calm Before the Storm

On the edge of the town of Storybrooke, Belle was making her way through Jefferson's estate, gathering up used towels and dirty clothes in a laundry basket. Before heading down to the laundry room, she made one final stop, stepping into the master bedroom at the end of the upstairs hallway. Upon entering the room, she could not fight the smile that formed on her face at the sight of Jefferson, still lying in bed. From the way he was holding one of the many pillows over his face, it was clear he was trying to block out the sunlight that was pouring in from the nearby window.

"Okay," Belle announced, striding right over to the bed. "Get up, sleepyhead. I need the sheets." To emphasize her statement, Belle started to tug at the blankets, getting ready to remove them from the bed. In response, Jefferson let out a low groan, but instead of moving out of bed, his arm shot out, catching Belle by the waist. In one fluid movement, he'd flipped her onto the bed and was hovering over her in moments, a large smile on his face. Emboldened by the sounds of Belle giggling, he closed the distance between them, placing a slow but still chaste kiss on her lips.

"What time is it?" he asked when they came up for air.

"Nine," Belle replied. "The Dark Star Pharmacy opens at eight."

"All right," Jefferson sighed, untangling himself from their embrace in order to get up.

"Don't forget the clotted cream," Belle requested. "We'll need some to go with the scones for Grace's birthday tea."

"I'll remember," Jefferson promised.

* * *

By the time Jefferson had begun the drive to Dark Star Pharmacy to get the items on the grocery list he and Belle had put together, and to drop Belle off at the local library, the shops along Main Street were all up and running. Shoppers moved up and down the street, carrying parcels and bags from the Modern Fashions, the Purbeck Shoe Store, and Jolene's Arts and Crafts. The familiar aroma of bacon and coffee drifted out from Granny's Diner as patrons entered and exited. At first glance, the town looked exactly the same as it had done for nearly 30 years. But there were significant differences. Not the least of which was the fact that the old clock tower above the Storybrooke Library was operational after 28 years of dormancy. The most noticeable difference was that the old sign that used to hang over Mr. Gold's Pawn Shop had been replaced, with the sign now reading ' _Cassidy Art Dealers_.' The shop windows, which had once been filled with an eclectic assortment of items, from stone busts and violins to chess sets and crystal goblets, were now adorned with framed paintings and sketches.

Neal's art dealership wasn't the only new addition in town. Another new business had been recently established on a side street branching off from Main Street, just a stone's throw away from Game of Thorns, the florist shop Belle's father ran. After the curse had been broken, one of the former Sisters of Saint Meissa had amicably split off from the rest of the group, having remembered her true identity as Mab, a renowned fairy midwife of the Enchanted Forest. While it had taken her a few months to make it happen, she had now been able to open up a birthing clinic, which she ran with the help of some volunteer nurses and a few of her fellow fairies. It was this establishment that David parked his truck in front of before stepping around to help Mary Margret out of the passenger seat.

It had been Aurora who had informed them of the new birthing clinic. Her own pregnancy was about a month further along than Mary Margret's, but she had no desire to have checkups at the local hospital. Since she and Phillip weren't brought over during the Dark Curse, they weren't as familiar to the technology within this new realm, and Aurora was quite leery of the machines and clinical atmosphere of the hospital room. When the birthing clinic opened, she'd quickly been won over by the homey, intimate atmosphere, finding it closer to what was offered in the Enchanted Forest. As such, she was quick to recommend it to Mary Margret and David, who had agreed to give the place a fair chance.

Upon entering the facility, they were welcomed by the sight of a cozy reception area, decorated with couches and a few cushioned rocking chairs. Along the wall were two separate magazine racks. One was filled with magazines and brochures discussing the procedures the clinic offered while the other was filled with children's books. There was also what appeared to be a toy chest in the corner of the room. However, the only other people in the room at the present time were the two women chatting over at the receptionist desk, both of whom looked up when David and Mary Margret entered. When she noticed who they were, Mary Margret's face lit up.

"Astrid, Tink!" Mary Margret exclaimed. "I didn't know you two worked here."

"Well," Tink replied with a shrug, "I may have my wings back again, but I suppose I'd just spent too much time on my own. I just wasn't connecting with the rest of the fairies anymore. After a while, I realized that it was probably better to carve my own niche. So, when Mab was looking for anyone who might be interested in joining her staff, I figured I might as well step forward. After all, I've always felt it was a fairy's responsibility to help people. I'd say this certainly qualifies as helping people."

"And while I'll never say anything against Blue," Astrid added, "Mab is… a bit more easy-going with how she runs things. At least, things are slightly less structured here."

"You're just happy Mab doesn't have a problem with you spending your lunch breaks with a certain friend of yours," Tink commented with a teasing smirk. "Name rhymes with Troy?"

" _Anyway_ ," Astrid announced, a definite blush tinting her cheeks as she tried to change the subject, "I suppose you're here because of the baby, Mary Margret? Aurora said you might be stopping by."

"Well, we certainly were curious," David admitted.

"Of course," Tink agreed. "Mab's in a meeting with another expectant couple at the moment, but I can give you a little tour of the place in the meantime."

"That would be nice," Mary Margret said.

* * *

"Okay," Mother Superior announced. "That's enough of that for now." In response to her statement, the other fairies halted the magical test they were performing on the golden urn. Out of all the magical artifacts Jefferson, Belle, Ruby and the rest of the Enchanted Forest expedition brought back from the Dark Castle, this urn was the only one they were having trouble cracking. The only thing their multiple tests had unveiled was an inscription written in a language none of the fairies were able to identify.

"Perhaps the Dark One's son has an idea of what this urn was used for?" one of the fairies suggested as the group left the room to convene for breakfast in the refectory.

"I already asked him," Mother Superior replied. "He said he didn't recognize it. Clearly, Rumpelstiltskin obtained it after Baelfire used the magic bean I gave him. But perhaps we should bring in Belle once again. It is possible she would be able to decipher the inscription on the urn. There might be something within her library that can identify that language."

As the group of fairies continued to follow after Mother Superiour, one of the women slowly came to a halt, a frown on her face as she carefully felt around inside her pocket. When she noticed her friend falling behind, another fairy stopped and looked back in concern.

"Sister Anser?" she asked. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes, of course," Sister Anser answered, speaking quickly. "Just… you go ahead. I'll join you in a minute."

Without another word, Sister Anser turned and quickly reentered the room they had just left, closing the door behind her. The instant she was alone in the room, she turned and looked around franticly.

"Roquefort?" she called out in a loud whisper. "Roquefort, where are you?" When she got no response, she started to move carefully around the room, being noticeably mindful about where she stepped. As she scanned the room, she continued to call out for 'Roquefort.'

After a minute or two, however, she finally noticed a slight movement out of the corner of her eye. Turning, she spotted the black and white spotted mouse perched on the pedestal where the mysterious urn had been left.

" _Roquefort!_ " Sister Anser hissed in a scolding tone. "You shouldn't be up there!" Moving slowly in an attempt to not spook her pet mouse, she carefully reached out a hand towards the small animal. But at the last possible second, Roquefort took a flying leap off the pedestal, forcing Sister Anser to lunge forward in order to catch him. In the process, her shoulder collided with the urn, causing it to fall to the floor. Upon landing, the lid of the urn fell off, releasing what appeared to be a thick blue liquid. The liquid seemed to consolidate into a puddle before slowly stretching upwards, taking the unmistakable shape of a person.

Briefly, Sister Anser could only watch in shocked surprise as a woman she'd never seen before emerged from the strange blue liquid. The mysterious woman, it seemed, hadn't yet noticed Sister Anser and simply looked around. Upon noticing that the woman was starting to look particularly agitated, she decided to try and approach her.

"Um, excuse me?" Sister Asner began. "Can I help…?"

Sister Anser didn't get a chance to finish her question. The moment she heard the fairy speak, the mysterious woman spun around, a burst of magic shooting out from her extended hand. Even though Sister Anser was able to dodge out of the way in time, resulting in the magical blast to collide with the wall, she was unable to hold in the gasp of surprise at the unexpected attack. When she looked back to face the stranger, however, she saw the mysterious woman was gone. The only sign of her retreat was the door standing ajar. Throat too tight to speak, Sister Anser turned to look back at the wall where the magical attack had collided. Instead of the scorch mark she was expecting to see, there was only a large patch of what appeared to be ice. It was only then that she noticed there was also a trail of ice formed along the ground, which seemed to be marking the path the mysterious woman had taken in her flight.

* * *

Emma made her way down the hall leading to the main room of the sheriff's department, shrugging out of her coat as she walked. Upon reaching her office, she hung up the coat on the coatrack standing in the corner, pausing a moment to spare a wistful glance at the battered leather jacket that always hung there. Pushing aside the memories, she turned her attention to her desk, and the waiting pile of paperwork. But before she could give the paperwork the attention it needed, she paused at the sight of a steaming mug of coffee sitting in the middle of her desk. For a few moments, Emma simply looked at the coffee. She was sure it wasn't there when she left work yesterday.

Instantly, a knowing smirk appeared on her face. Shaking her head, she glanced over her shoulder.

"I know you're there, Killian," she called out.

"I get a summons from a fair maiden, and I'm on the spot," Killian announced, emerging from the side room while directing a disarming smile in her direction. "What can I help you with, Swan?"

"Well, first of all, thank you for the coffee," Emma began, taking a sampling sip. "You're getting very good at working the coffeemaker. Anyway, there was a matter I wanted to discuss with you."

"If it's about the bar fight last week, I already spoke to my crew about that," Killian responded. "They've agreed to come to an agreement with the dwarfs to avoid going to the Rabbit Hole on the same night. I assure you, there won't be a repeat performance of that."

"While that is appreciated, that's isn't what I was concerned about."

"What, then?"

"It's about the curse that Regina cast. You know how time was frozen when it was still in effect, with no one in town aging."

"Aye, I was aware," Killian agreed with a nod.

"Well, now that the curse is broken, it means that there's an important fact that should be discussed. Up until now, the oldest children in town were around 14 years old, at the most. There weren't many older kids. But with time moving again, and people aging, it won't be long before Storybrooke is filled with older teenagers. Especially with the former Lost Boys we brought back from Neverland. The problem is, because there was never a need for it before, there's not much available in town that interest teenagers older than 15."

"Yes," Killian mused. "I can see how that would be a problem. I trust you have a plan of action on how that might be remedied."

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about," Emma admitted. "Obviously, you didn't have things like this in the Enchanted Forest. But in this world we had….special groups that were designed to help school-aged children develop values that would need as adults. It was called 'Scouting.' Maybe we should organize a similar offering in Storybrooke. Preferably without having separate groups for boys and girls."

"And what sort of thing do these 'scouts' do?" Killian inquired.

"That's where I'm hoping you come in," Emma said. "Most scouting programs in this world feature a lot of outdoor activities. Like camping and fishing. I see no reason why we couldn't do something similar in Storybrooke. And I've already got a list of potential volunteer program leaders. For instance, Anton said he'd be able to help teach the Storybrooke Scouts gardening tips. And Robin said he'd be more than willing to teach them about camping and foraging for food. But…"

"I'm listening," Killian said gently, casually reaching out to give her hand a supportive squeeze, seeing she was suddenly getting nervous.

"Well, Henry overhead me discussing it the other day," Emma admitted. "He had a few ideas about activities that could be offered, too. Such as….sailing a ship?"

"Ah, I see," Killian nodded in understanding. "So, you're asking me if I'd be willing to help teach the town's children. I don't know, Swan. Are you certain parents would be tolerant of the knowledge that a pirate such as myself was among the chosen instructors in your scouting program?"

"You might be a pirate," Emma allowed. "But if anyone has a problem with it, I'll simply ask them if they have a _better_ candidate in mind for teaching them about navigation and steering a ship."

Killian didn't respond to that statement right away, simply scratching at his ear. It was clear he wasn't oblivious to the subtle praise in Emma's statement. When he finally looked back up at Emma, he took a moment to study her face.

"Were you worried I wouldn't want to assist you in your endeavor?"

"Well, I wouldn't have been surprised if you didn't want to," Emma consented with a shrug. "Considering the scouting group would contain the boys we brought back from Neverland. I wasn't sure you'd want to be in such close proximity to them again, considering your…past conflicts with each other."

Slowly, an understanding smile appeared on Killian's face, realizing that Emma's hesitance in asking him to help oversee her proposed program was solely out of concern for him and his feelings.

"Emma, unless the parents of the children in this scouting program of yours have a problem with me being there, I would be _honored_ to assist you," he stated. To emphasize his words, he brought her hand up to his lips in a chaste but reverent kiss. When he once again met her eyes, he was pleased to see the touched smile grace her features.

At that moment, however, the phone sitting on Emma's desk started to ring, disrupting the intimacy of the moment.

"Sorry," Emma apologized, turning her attention to the phone. "I need to take this." Nodding in understanding, Killian stepped back to allow her fulfill her duties and answer up the phone. "Sherriff Swan, speaking…. Could you say that again?"

* * *

 **AN:** And a new adventure begins.

For those of you who were curious, Sister Anser is supposed to be the Storybrooke name of Fawn, one of the fairies in those Tinkerbell movies. While I've never actually seen those movies, I am fully aware of their existence, and know that Fawn is the animal-loving fairy. And yes, her pet mouse shares the same name as the mouse from Aristocats. That was intentional


	2. The Wind Picks Up

Regina was sitting alone on the bench outside Five and Dime Neighbors, pouring over the newspaper in her hands. As she studied the paper, she let out a noise of frustration. After a moment, she gave the newspaper in her hands an angry _if-looks-could-kill_ glare and crumpled it up, tossing it away in disgust. Because she didn't bother to look where the discarded newspaper landed, she didn't notice the figure coming up behind her until he took a seat on the bench next to her.

"I may be fairly new to this realm," Robin began without preamble, holding up the crumpled up newspaper, "but I've gotten the impression that people are supposed to throw these out in specified containers."

"Robin," Regina muttered, unable to fully hide her surprise at seeing him. "What brings you into town?"

"I was paying a visit to the city hall," Robin explained. "I thought, if I was going to try settling into this town, I should probably learn what is required to enroll Roland into school."

"Is Roland even old enough for school?" Regina asked, visibly surprised.

"He turns five in a week," Robin said. "Mary Margret says children that age are able to attend a kindergarten class, which, according to her, is like a preliminary school where children learn the basics, such as how to read and write."

"Somehow, I didn't expect you would want to enroll Roland into school," Regina mused.

"It's something….Marian and I always wanted for him," Robin admitted, choosing not to voice that he noticed Regina's slight wince at Marian's name. "But back in the Enchanted Forest, formal education was only possible for children with rich or privileged backgrounds. Here, though, Roland can get the education we'd always wanted for him."

"Well, then," Regina stated. "I wish you and Roland well."

"Thank you," Robin replied. "So, how about we talk about your obvious dilemma. I take it this newspaper did something to offend you."

"I was….looking for a new job," Regina admitted. "I probably should have started looking long before now, but something always seemed to come up. First it was my mother making it to Storybrooke, then Henry was kidnapped and taken to Neverland. Then there was the thing with my sister. Now, it looks like I've run out of excuses to put it off. I really _need_ to find a new job. But the listing of job offerings in this town are absurd. A line cook at Granny's, auto mechanic at the Marine Garage, and an accountant position at Storybrooke Savings and Loan? I have no experience with _any_ of that."

"Well, what sort of job are you hoping to find?" Robin asked, smoothing out the newspaper to examine the classified page.

"I don't know," Regina huffed. "The only job I've ever held in this town was mayor. After the curse broke, everyone demanded I stepped down. I suppose….I can't blame them for that. But I need something to do with my time. I can't just sit around in my mansion all day."

"Is there something you enjoy doing? Something that made you happy before you became the Evil Queen?"

In response to that question, Regina paled slightly. If she was honest with herself, she knew what the answer to that question was. When she was younger, and decidedly more innocent, she was always happiest when she was on the back of a horse. But ever since that terrible day at the Storybrooke stables, when she was forced to lose Daniel all over again, she couldn't bear to go anywhere near the stables.

Regina was pulled out of her thoughts when Robin casually placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You know," he stated. "You're not the only one who is in the position of trying to start over. Quite a few of my men are also struggling to find a place in this town. Perhaps it would help if you came back to my camp for a bit. Maybe you and my men could benefit from a collective brainstorm."

After a pause, Regina gave a small smile, deciding to accept the offer.

* * *

Over at the convent across town, Emma was crouched down, studying the icy shards of the golden urn.

"So, this whole time, there was a _person_ inside the urn," Emma stated.

"I wonder how long she was trapped in there," Sister Anser mused. "There's no telling when the Dark One obtained that urn, after all."

"The question is, what led to her getting imprisoned? This was Gold we're talking about, after all. This woman could have been an innocent victim of his, or she might end up being as bad as Pan was."

"Well, if it helps, she didn't _seem_ to be acting out of aggression." Sister Anser replied. "When she attacked, I didn't get the feeling she was actually looking to hurt me. I think I just….surprised her."

"That doesn't make things less serious," Emma announced, eyeing the patch of ice that still clung to the nearby wall.

For a moment, Sister Anser stood wringing her hands, contemplating what Emma was getting at. If this mysterious woman was that easily spooked, someone might end up getting hurt.

Hoping to alleviate the sudden unease in the air, Sister Anser glanced over at Killian, who was standing guard at the door to ensure the interview was uninterrupted.

"By the way," she began. "When did you decide to put Hook on the payroll?"

"I'm sorry, what?" Emma blinked, genuinely surprised by the sudden direction the conversation had gone in.

"You made him a deputy, didn't you?"

"What?! No, he's not a deputy," Emma exclaimed. "What gave you that idea?"

"Oh! Well, when I saw that you brought him with you, I just thought…. I guess I was mistaken. Still, it's nice of you to let him come with you."

"It is?" Emma asked, visibly surprised. She had been fully expecting Sister Anser to criticize her decision, or question Killian's loyalty or trustworthiness. It wouldn't have been the first time she experienced that.

"Yes, I've heard a lot about him. From Tink," Sister Anser clarified upon seeing Emma's confusion. "Tink and I were old friends, you see. She told me what he was like on Neverland, both before and during your quest to save Henry. And I heard about how he ended up in the hospital while trying to keep the children safe from the flying monkeys. I was also here that day he helped stop Pan's Shadow once and for all."

"So, you don't think I'm being stupid in accepting help from a pirate?" Emma questioned.

"Not when it's a pirate who did all of that," Sister Anser replied. "Honestly, I think he's done a decent enough job at proving himself by now."

If Emma was going to reply to that, she never got the chance, for her phone started to ring. Glancing down at the screen, she frowned slightly when she saw Neal's name on the display screen. She had given him her number so he could reach her in emergencies, such as if something happened to Henry when he was watching him for the day. But it was only slightly half past 11. Henry was still at school.

"Neal, I'm at work," Emma declared upon answering. "Is there a reason you're calling?"

"Yeah, sorry if I'm interrupting something," Neal replied. "But….I think you better get into town. There's some trouble at the jewelry shop next door. Someone smashed the shop window. Made off with something that was on dispaly."

"Really?" Emma huffed, nearly rolling her eyes. "Figures we'd get a robbery on top of this. Okay, I'm on my way." After ending the call, Emma turned apologetically toward Sister Anser, but she was met with an understanding smile.

"It's okay, Emma. You do what you have to do. Just…please don't tell Mother Superior why I came back into this room. See, I'm really not supposed to be carrying Roquefort around with me. I was told to keep him in his cage, but… I can't stand keeping him cooped up all the time."

"Sure," Emma agreed. "She won't hear it from me."

* * *

By the time Emma and Killian made it back into town, there was already a crowd gathered around the broken shop window, so it was a small struggle for them to work their way to the front. Once they did, they were immediately approached by Mr. Griffith, the owner of the jewelry store. Briefly, Emma contemplated the irony of how Mr. Griffith would turn out to be the cursed identity of King Midis, but she quickly pushed that thought aside to slip into her role as town sheriff.

"Hello, Mr. Griffth. Can you tell me what was taken?"

"Surprisingly, only a single necklace was taken," Mr. Griffith replied. "The one I got from him, actually." As he spoke, Mr. Griffith gestured over to Neal, who was standing nearby.

"Yeah, it was a snowflake necklace," Neal explained. "Found it among the items in my dad's shop. But when Belle and I were returning everything to the rightful owners, no one ever came forward to claim it, so I let Mr. Griffith take it to sell in his shop."

"So, why would someone decide to take it now when they had plenty of time to come claim the necklace beforehand?" Emma wondered out loud.

"Perhaps the culprit was someone who hadn't been _able_ to step forward before now," Killian suggested, appearing at Emma's side.

"Oh, is today ' _take your new boyfriend to work_ ' day?" Neal commented, eyeing Killian.

"Not now, Neal," Emma sighed before addressing Killian. "You think there's a connection between the theft and the woman from the urn?"

"Well, from what the fairies told us, this woman left a path of ice behind when she escaped. And it looks like there's an identical one leading away from the shop window."

Sure enough, when Emma glanced over in the direction Killian was indicating, she saw the narrow line of ice that formed a path along the pavement. After sharing a brief glance with Killian, Emma proceeded to follow the trail of ice, not even bothering to object when she noticed him following after her. In fact, a part of her admitted she was expecting him to remain at her side. However, she paused briefly when she noticed Neal was also trying to follow her.

"Neal, no," she insisted, turning to face him. "You stay here. You're a civilian, remember?"

"Yeah, and so is he," Neal countered, pointing at Killian. "But you don't have a problem with _him_ tagging along."

Before Emma could defend her choice to let Killian accompany her, Jefferson suddenly appeared on the scene, grabbing Neal by the shoulder and pulling him back a few steps.

"That's enough, Cassidy," he instructed. "Last I checked, the sheriff's job doesn't require her to defend her decisions to her ex." Then, ignoring the annoyed glare Neal was now giving him, Jefferson gave a nod of acknowledgement to Emma and Killian, who returned his nonverbal greeting with brief smiles before continuing on.

The pair proceeded to follow the ice trail, which led them down a side street and straight into a run-down warehouse that was used by the Storybrooke Cannery to store fishing boats and extra equipment. After drawing her gun for precaution, Emma led the way inside. At first glance, the warehouse appeared to be deserted. Nevertheless, Emma began to search through the building, keeping her eyes peeled for any sign of movement. As she started to make her way around a corner, she finally spotted something out of the corner of her eye. But as she turned her head to get a better look, Killian's voice rang out.

" _Emma!_ " he cried, tackling her to the ground. Mere seconds after they hit the ground, jagged looking icicles flew past, embedding themselves into the side of the wooden siding. In unison, they glanced over in the direction the icicles had come from. As such, they found themselves looking up at a gigantic figure that appeared to be made from snow and ice.

"Well, that's a new one," Killian quipped.

* * *

 **AN:** Hope it was worth the long wait. And I'm sorry the chapter wasn't longer. I'm having a small touch of trouble getting the whole Marshmallow attack written. But hey, it gives readers something to look forward to, right?


	3. Snow Monster

Emma barely had time to think about how quickly things had escalated as she and Killian narrowly avoided the dumpster as it rolled by. Acting on instinct, the pair raced out towards the street in a desperate attempt to escape, but it was clear from the vibrations they felt through their feet that the snow monster was close behind them. This fact was emphasized by the sound of Leroy's voice crying out when the snowman came into view.

Glancing over her shoulder, Emma watched as the snow monster collided with the electrical wires that transected the street, inadvertently causing them to break. She skidded to a stop when she noticed the broken wire was falling backward in such a way, it was heading straight towards Belle, who was stepping out of the library to see what was going on. Thankfully, before Emma could shout out a warning, Ruby suddenly appeared, managing to reach Belle in time with her heightened werewolf speed to pull her out of harm's way. Letting out a sigh of relief, Emma glanced back at the snow monster, who seemed to be assessing everyone in the street. Then, letting out what sounded like a low huff, it turned and headed off in the opposite direction.

As the snow monster started to walk away, Mary Margret, David, Neal and Jefferson broke off from the sizable crowd of bystanders. While most of them headed over to Emma and Killian, Jefferson walked right past them to reach Belle and Ruby, pulling the former into a relieved hug.

"Emma, what was that thing?" David asked.

Emma was about to reply to the question, but she suddenly noticed something before she could get the words out. The snow monster was indeed moving away from them, but if it continued on in the path it was currently taking, it was bound to reach….

"The school!" Emma uttered in a terrified whisper. "It's heading right for the school!"

"The children!" Mary Margret gasped.

Moving quickly, Emma raced over to where Ruby was standing with Belle and Jefferson.

"Ruby, I need to borrow your car!" she exclaimed. "We have to beat that snow monster to the school!"

"Wait, it's going towards the _school?_ " Jefferson cried, eyes widening in fear as Ruby hurriedly dug her car keys out of her pocket and tossed them to Emma.

"Yes, so I need you to call the school," Emma instructed. "Warn Principal Hardy. Get him to make sure everyone is inside, and away from the windows."

Without another word, Emma turned and raced over to the red Camaro parked nearby. To her surprise, David, Killian, Neal and Jefferson all appeared at her side.

"We're not about to let you go into this alone," David stated before Emma could even comment.

"And I'm not just sitting here when Grace is in danger," Jefferson added.

"Or Henry," Neal chimed in.

"Fine, but hurry," Emma huffed. "There's no time to argue."

* * *

With the added speed of Ruby's car, Emma and the others managed to reach the school grounds just as the snow monster came into view. The moment the car came to a stop, Jefferson and Neal nearly leapt out and made for the front door, in order to assist the teachers in keeping the students safe. While the two men disappeared into the building, Emma, Killian and David turned to face the approaching threat.

"Pistol, sword... hook," Killian muttered, listing off their assists. "My cunning wit," he added with a brief wink to Emma. "I don't think we have what it takes."

"Emma does," David realized, turning to her expectantly.

"What?" Emma blinked, taken aback.

"Your magic, love," Killian reminded, also glancing over at her. For a brief moment, Emma looked between the two men, who were both giving her supportive smiles.

"Right," she nodded, willing back her nervousness. While she had been continuing her magic lessons with Regina since Zelena's defeat, it was a bit daunting taking on a giant, angry snowman. Killian, somehow sensing her unease, reached out to give her shoulder a gentle squeeze.

"You can do this," he assured.

Sparing a moment to smile at Killian in gratitude, Emma willed her magic to activate, firing off a blast of Light Magic, which managed to hit its target, forcing the snow monster to stagger back slightly.

"Take that, Frosty!" Emma exclaimed, feeling a sudden sense of satisfaction.

Unfortunately, her triumph was short lived, as the snow monster's eyes seemed to narrow in a threatening manner. In the blink of an eye, jagged, icy spikes formed on the snow monster's back and arms, making it appear even more threatening.

"Really?" Emma gulped, instinctively backing up a few steps as the snow monster let out a bellowing roar.

Just as the snow monster was lifting up an arm to strike, a horse's whinny was heard, catching everyone's attention. Without further warning, a large group of men appeared, each riding a decorated horse. The most notable thing about the men was that they were all dressed in a clothing style fitting of the Enchanted Forest nobility.

No sooner as they appeared, the four men standing at the front of the line charged forward on their horses. As they galloped over, Emma, David and Killian saw two of the men were carrying ropes. In a maneuver that was impressively synchronized, the men with the ropes tossed one end of their ropes to the other two, who caught the ends effortlessly. Without breaking their stride, the four men proceeded to circle the snow monster, thereby causing the ropes to wrap around the creature's legs. The moment the snow monster's legs were completely entangled, the four men gave the ropes a mighty tug, resulting in the monster to lose its balance and crash to the ground, shattering upon impact.

The moment the crisis was averted, Emma let out a sigh of relief, sparing a glance back at the school, thankful that nothing had happened. When she turned back to the four men who had come to their aid, she saw one of them had already approached them.

"I hope none of you have been harmed," the dark-haired man began without preamble.

"No, we're fine," David replied. "Thanks for your help. We're grateful for the assist."

"Think nothing of it," the man responded with a friendly smile. "King Arthur, at your service."

* * *

The school grounds were filled with a multitude of parents who had all come out to the school to check on the wellbeing of their children the moment they had been informed of what had happened. So it came as no surprise to Emma when she saw the Mercedes carrying Regina and Robin pulling up, with Regina making a beeline for Henry. It wasn't until she was sure he was unharmed that she allowed the others to fill her in on what happened with the snow monster.

"I can't thank you enough for your assistance," David told Arthur, shaking his hand for the fifth time. "I hate to think what might have happened to the children if you hadn't arrived when you did."

"I'm glad I was able to be there, too," Arthur replied.

"How'd you and your men get here, anyway," Robin questioned, taking note of what Arthur was wearing. "You look as if you just arrived from our original realm."

"We're not quite sure, to be honest," Arthur explained with a smile. "We were returning home from an overseas voyage when a mysterious fog overtook us. The next thing we knew, we were here."

Emma listened silently to Arthur's story, keeping her expression neutral. Despite the man's convincing tone and casual smile, she could still sense the lie in his words. Why exactly was he lying about how he got here? What was he trying to hide?

"Emma?"

Upon hearing her name, Emma looked over to see Belle standing a short distance away, Jefferson and Grace at her side. Noticing the unease in the librarian's face and tone, she extracted herself from the rest of the group and made her way over.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Please, don't misunderstand me," Belle began. "Because I know he just saved the children from the snow monster, and I'm very grateful that Grace, Henry and the others are safe. But… I don't think we should trust him."

"What do you mean?" Emma inquired with a concerned frown.

"Belle, Ruby and I encountered King Arthur before," Jefferson explained. "Back when we were in the Enchanted Forest, securing the items in Rumpelstiltskin's old vault."

"He was asking me all these questions," Belle added. "About the Dark One's dagger. _Too many_ questions. I didn't like it. Something about it just didn't feel right. And now he's here in Storybrooke, and… just say you'll be careful around him."

Briefly, Emma glanced over her shoulder, carefully scrutinizing Arthur as he continued to talk with the others.

"Thank you for the warning, Belle," she stated. "I'll be sure to keep an eye on him."

Accepting that reassurance, Belle cast Emma a grateful smile before stepping away to accompany Jefferson and Grace as they crossed the school grounds to meet with Grace's cursed parents, who had just arrived on the scene.

* * *

Elsa crouched down in the shadowy corner of the warehouse, trying to force her heartrate to slow down. In spite of her anxiety and confusion, she still harbored lingering concern for the people who had nearly discovered her, and everyone else who had been moving about in that strange looking town. She hoped that no one had been seriously harmed by Marshmallow.

Pushing aside her thoughts, she glanced down at the small snowflake necklace in her hand. She didn't know how it had wound up in the window of that shop, but she would recognize Anna's necklace anywhere. The question, was, if Anna's necklace was here, then where was Anna? Was she somewhere in this town? If she was, there was only one way to find out.

* * *

By the time Emma and David had finished the interviews with the upset parents, reassuring them that the schoolchildren hadn't been harmed, it was nearing dusk. Nevertheless, they still adjourned to the sheriff's station to discuss the events of the day with the rest of the group Henry had dubbed The Nevengers. Only Robin was absent from the group, as he was currently busy in helping Arthur and the rest of his group settle in. He had personally volunteered for the job, as he was also a recent newcomer to Storybrooke and knew how jarring the new world could be.

"I can't believe there was a _person_ inside that urn," Belle muttered, shaking her head.

"Shame you didn't get a chance to see the writing that had appeared on it before it shattered," Jefferson commented, his arm casually draped around her shoulder. "It might have helped shine a bit of light on things."

"And now there's a crazed woman out on the loose," Regina huffed, folding her arms. "If she could create that snow beast, who knows what else she'll do?"

"To be fair," Killian inputted, "I don't believe she was looking for a fight. The monster only attacked after we provoked it. My guess would be that the snow monster was an act of self-defense."

"Oh, you're the expert on strategy now?" Regina challenged.

"He probably has a point," Mary Margret cut in. "There's no telling how long that woman was trapped in the urn. And now she suddenly finds herself in a town like Storybrooke? She must be very confused and scared."

"I think the first step should be to figure out who she is," Emma decided.

"And how do we do that, since we have no idea where she is?" Regina asked.

"Yeah, that part might be a bit hard," Emma admitted. "All we really know at this point is that she was trapped in an urn that Belle, Jefferson, Ruby, Leroy and the fairies found in Rumpelstiltskin's vault. And that she stole a necklace that used to reside in Gold's shop, before Neal donated to Mr. Griffith's jewelry store."

"In other words, the only one who might know the identity of this mysterious woman is dead," Mary Margret concluded.

"Well, I don't know if it would help," Neal announced, speaking up for the first time. "But…maybe I could search through Dad's place. Knowing him, he wouldn't have kept everything in one place. There might be a few clues in his mansion."

"That's a good idea," Emma agreed.

"Yeah, I just hope something comes of it," Neal added with a shrug. "I already checked the original itinerary card Dad kept, to see if there was any information about that necklace, but there wasn't anything useful written there."

As Neal spoke, he pulled out an index card from his pocket to show everyone. The moment he saw it, David's eyes widened in surprise.

"Could I see that?" he asked, reaching out for the index card. When Neal wordlessly handed it over, David simply stared at the card.

"Dad?" Emma prompted. "What is it?"

Before David could reply, the lights suddenly went out, plunging the room into darkness.


	4. Elsa

"I'm getting very tempted to just disconnect that phone," David announced after he ended another call. "But then I remember that someone could have a real emergency and they wouldn't be able to get through if the phone wasn't active."

"Who was it this time?" Emma asked, not looking up from the map she was studying with a flashlight.

"Happy. Complaining about how he couldn't use his computer, the TV, the coffeemaker….."

"Have the past 28 years made everyone forget that you all came from the Enchanted Forest?" Emma wondered with a sigh.

"And why is everyone calling here about it?" Killian added. "Didn't you say there were people in this world whose job it was to take care of the electrical problems?"

"There is," Emma confirmed. "But people in this town have a tendency to call the sheriff station for even minor conveniences. I've even had people calling to complain about the neighbor's dog barking."

The phone in the sheriff station had been ringing off the hook from the moment the blackout first began, so Emma and David had to stick around while the others had gone home. Only Killian had chosen to stay behind, announcing his ability to read maps could be of use if they were going to chart out which parts of Storybrooke were without power. While that explanation seemed to satisfy David, Emma suspected that there was more to Killian's reluctance to leave than he was letting on. Nevertheless, she decided it wasn't the right time to confront him over it.

Eventually, it was determined that the majority of power outages were seemingly confined to the area north of Fifth Avenue and Friar Street.

"That means the problem might be linked to one of these three powerlines," David figured, circling a few select locations on the map of the town's power grid. "It's possible the power outage was caused by someone crashing into one of the powerlines."

"If that's the case, someone might be seriously hurt," Emma added. "We probably should drive out to take a look."

Without another word, Emma reached out to retrieve her jacket, which she'd left draped over a nearby chair, but she paused when she heard David addressing Killian.

"Hook? Where do you think you're going?"

In curiosity, Emma glanced over to see Killian had been seemingly following her father out the door.

"You said the plan was to go out and look for anyone who might have been injured out on the roads," Killian pointed out. "As I can attest from my past experiences with those metal contraptions, injuries sustained from them are not pleasant."

"Yes, that's true," David allowed. "But this is strictly a matter for employees of the sheriff department. While we do appreciate your willingness to help, you're not on the payroll."

Emma noticing that Killian was starting to open his mouth to argue, chose that moment to step in.

"Hook….Killian," she began, trying to word things properly. "I'm sorry, but…. he's right. Technically, you're just a civilian. So we can't allow you to join us on police business."

"If that's the case," Killian challenged, "why let me tag along this far? Why allow me to be present when you were interviewing the fairies this morning? And why accept my help in scouring the town maps? Why is my being a 'civilian' only an issue now?"

"Please, let's not argue about this now," Emma sighed. "Look, you can…stay by the phone, alright? That way, if anyone calls with a real emergency, you can let us know with the CB radio. Do you remember how to operate it?"

"I remember the basics," Killian replied, still visibly unhappy about being left behind.

"Thank you," Emma said, standing up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek before turning and heading out with David. However, as they drove away in the squad car, Emma was sure she saw Killian watching them from the window. Even though she couldn't quite decipher the expression on his face, the memory of it continued to dwell on her mind as David drove the squad car through the darkened streets. Unbidden, the memory of what Sister Anser had said earlier came back. But this time, in the silence of the squad car, she began to fully contemplate the idea, wondering what the infamous Captain Hook would think of even being asked to officially join the world of law enforcement.

It was only when she heard David's deep sigh that Emma was pulled out of her thoughts. Glancing over, she found she could only make out his silhouette due to the inactive street lights.

"Dad?" Emma prompted. "Is something wrong?"

"That necklace," David muttered. "I've seen it before. And I know who it belonged to, originally."

"You do?" Emma asked, instantly alert.

"It was a long time ago. Before I even met your mother. Back when I still lived on the farm with my mother."

"Are you saying you know the woman who was trapped in the urn?"

"I don't know if it's the same woman," David admitted. "But the fact that she stole that necklace does make me think there's a definite connection."

"Well that's something," Emma mused. "Your history with that snowflake necklace might be helpful if we actually find this…."

Emma never finished her statement, as her attention had been caught by something appearing ahead of them, in the light of the car's headlights. Towering above them in the road straight ahead was a solid wall that appeared to have been made entirely of ice.

* * *

In the sheriff's station, Killian was sprawled out on the couch, twilling the dart through his fingers almost absent mindedly. While he had been trying to entertain himself by utilizing the dart board that hung on the far wall, the activity had very quickly lost its appeal. For the tenth time in in the past two minutes, he glanced over at the CB radio sitting ever silently on the nearby desk. While he knew Emma had tasked him with the job of using it to contact her if someone called with an emergency, he had been letting himself hope that she would also be keeping him in the loop with the metal voice box, too. But so far, it have been completely silent.

A heavy sigh slipped from his lips as he pulled himself to his feet and began to pace the room. There was no use denying that he was starting to grow uneasy. He didn't quite know how long it had been since Emma had left with her father, since the clock on the wall had stopped working when the power went out. But it seemed like hours had gone by, and he still had received no word from Emma or David. Once again, he considered using the CB radio just to check in on them, but he never went through with it, knowing that might not go over well with Emma or her father.

Still, the more time that went by, the more anxious he became. In fact, there was a part of him that began to feel like something was wrong. And that nagging feeling was becoming even stronger with each passing minute.

Finally, after a further fifteen minutes had passed with no word from Emma or David, Killian had reached his breaking point. After flicking the single dart at the dartboard in a last-ditch effort to let out some steam, he started to make his way to the door. But just as he was crossing the threshold, he heard the CB radio crackle to life.

"Hook!" David's voice called out. "Hook, are you there?"

At first, Killian's intention as he picked up the CB microphone was to give a sarcastic response to the question, but David's tone of voice registered in time.

"David? What's wrong?" Killian asked, frowning in concern.

"Hook, I need you to do something for me," David began. "I need you to go get Regina. Tell her to come out to the town line."

"You want _Regina_?" Killian repeated, his brow furrowing in confusion. "What for? What's going on?"

"It's Emma."

With those words, Killian felt a sudden twist in his gut, and his grip on the CB microphone tightened to the point where his knuckles grew white. It took everything he had to quiet down the frantic voice chanting negatives in his head so he could actually hear David's explanation of how they had stumbled across a wall of ice at the town line. It turned out that's what had knocked over the electrical pole and caused the power outage. But when Emma had gotten closer for a better look, she had inadvertently run into who must have been the woman who had escaped from the urn. In the resulting confusion, there had been a sudden avalanche, which resulted in Emma and the mysterious woman ending up trapped within an ice cave. And since David's walkie had gotten damaged by the ice avalanche, he hadn't been able to contact Emma to ensure she was okay.

"So I need you to go and get Regina," David concluded. "There's too much ice blocking the entrance to the cave for me to dig Emma out. But Regina can conjure fireballs. That may be just what we need." Briefly, David paused to allow Killian to answer, but got no response. The man in question had already left the sheriff station, the microphone for the CB radio still swinging slightly from being dropped unceremoniously.

* * *

David, despite knowing that it was a fruitless endeavor, tried once again to shift the large ice chunks blocking the entrance to the cave. But even when he poured all his strength into it, the ice still would not budge. Groaning in frustration and anxiety, he glanced over at the smashed remains of his walkie, clearly broken beyond repair. He couldn't stand feeling this powerless. Emma was trapped within the ice, and there was no telling if she was even okay. But without the use of the walkie, he couldn't even hope to talk to her.

At that moment, he heard the unmistakable sounds of someone running up. Glancing over his shoulder in curiously, he nearly started in surprise when he saw Killian heading towards him in a full-on sprint.

"Hook?" David exclaimed. "What are you….?" However, Killian showed no sign of hearing him.

"Emma!" he shouted, shoving past David and heading right over to the ice wall. "EMMA!" The instant he reached the ice wall, Killian began hacking at the ice with his hook. Almost instantly, David realized he was actually intending to chip his way through the ice.

Striding forward, David reached out and grabbed Killian's arm, stopping him in mid-swing. In response, Killian cast a furious glare at him.

"Don't!" Killian snarled. "We have to get her out!"

"I know, but that's not going to help," David reasoned. "Where's Regina? I thought I told you to bring her here!"

"I ran into Dr. Hopper outside the sheriff station, walking his dog." Killian explained. "I sent _him_ to inform Regina of the situation."

David was about to voice his thoughts on Killian passing the task of getting Regina onto someone else, but he thought better of it when he took in the expression on Killian's face. Despite the angry tone in his voice, his eyes were wide and frantic. And when he turned to look back at the ice wall, he started running his good hand through his hair in obvious distress. The realization that his tangible anguish was due to Emma's current situation hit David like a jolt. He had begrudgingly acknowledged the fact that the pirate had feelings for his daughter, but he was significantly taken aback at seeing the magnitude of his worry for Emma's safety.

Before David could think of something to say, the glare of headlights appeared. The two men looked over in time to see Regina's Mercedes pulling up, with the woman climbing out moments later.

" _This_ is the ice wall the cricket was talking about?" she asked when she stepped over.

"Yes, and Emma's trapped inside," David replied. "Please, Regina. We need you to help get her out of there."

"What do you expect _me_ to do about it?"

"You can conjure fireballs, can't you?" Killian reminded sharply. "Use them to melt the ice!"

"Don't be stupid! Do you know how long that would take? Emma will most likely freeze to death before I even make a dent."

"Then what do _**you**_ suggest we do?" Killain demanded. "We can't even call her on the device!"

"It's because Grandpa's walkie was broken, wasn't it?"

In unison, David, Killian and Regina all looked over in surprise at Henry, who had suddenly appeared behind them.

"Henry, what are you doing here?!" Regina exclaimed. "You're supposed to be back at the house!"

"I overheard you talking to Archie," Henry said. "About how Mom was trapped in an ice cave, and Grandpa couldn't talk to her because his walkie was damaged by the falling ice. So I had to come and help." With that, Henry reached into his coat pocket and pulled out another walkie, which he held out.

"Where'd you get that?" David asked, eyes wide in amazement

"Emma gave it to me. A few weeks after Graham died. It was part of Operation Cobra. We used to use them to communicate with each other. We…haven't had to use them in a while, but…maybe you can use it to reach her now, though."

Letting out a noise of relief, David gratefully took the walkie from Henry, giving his shoulder an affectionate squeeze in the process. But there was a tension in the air as David switched Henry's walkie on.

"Emma?" he began, speaking into Henry's walkie. "Emma, are you there? Say something!"

For a long, harrowing minute, there was nothing but silence. But just as everyone was starting to exchange panicked glances, thinking the worst, the walkie in David's hand crackled to life.

"Dad? Are you there?" Emma's voice replied.

"Emma!" Killian choked out, reaching out to grab the walkie and nearly pulling it out of David's hand. "Say again!"

"I'm…I'm with this woman," Emma muttered, her voice sounding unsettlingly faint. "Her name's Elsa. She's looking for her sister, Anna. She thinks she's somewhere in town. The necklace she took from the jewelry store was hers."

"What, and she's decided to hold you hostage in exchange for her sister?" Regina accused.

"No," Emma whispered. "It…this was an accident. Elsa; she….she has ice powers. But she…she can't always control them. The cave-in was just an accident. She didn't mean to trap us in here. She….she….."

"Emma!" a new voice suddenly cut in. "Emma, no! Don't close your eyes!"

"Emma!?" David cried. "What's happening? Hello?" Emma did not reply, but the unfamiliar voice continued, this time addressing the group.

"She's passed out! I…I think she's freezing to death!"

"NO!" Killian cried, casting a panicked glance at the ice wall.

"Elsa…it was Elsa, right?" David asked, trying to keep his own panic under control. "Listen, I need you to find a way out."

"I...I can't," Elsa replied.

"Oh, come on," Regina huffed. "You made the ice wall, so you should be able to undo it."

"Please, Elsa!" Henry beseeched. "She's my mom!"

"I need Anna," Elsa stated, a definite tremor in her voice.

"Well, we don't have her right now," David stated, closing his eyes in an effort to remain calm and collected. "But I think I know of a way to find her. But for now, you're gonna have to do this on your own."

"I can't control this," Elsa insisted.

"I know how you feel," David said in what he hoped was a consoling tone. "You're trapped. It's a battle you can't win, but it's exactly the kind of battle you have to fight, or you'll die."

"No, I won't. I'll survive. But Emma..."

"Survival isn't enough!" David insisted. "You have to live." Those words were met with the sound of a strangled gasp.

"Where did you hear that?" Elsa asked, her voice shaking with emotion.

"You know where."

"Anna? You knew her?"

"Yeah, I did," David admitted, ignoring Killian, Regina and Henry's curious stares. "She helped me once, a long time ago, become who I am. She saved my life and yours, and now I need you to save Emma's.

"I didn't know much about Anna," David continued, "but I know enough to know she wouldn't want you to live alone in an ice cave. But that's where you'll be if you don't melt that ice. Now do it!"

Elsa didn't reply to David, but the walkie went silent. Once again, a heavy tension filled the air, and no one seemed willing to even move. Even Regina seemed to be holding her breath. But then, they started to hear what almost sounded like wind. The sound started off faint, but slowly increased in volume.

"Look!" Henry cried, pointing over at the ice wall. Everyone quickly looked over to where he was pointing and saw a patch of swirling snow had appeared within the ice, almost as if an invisible drill was cutting into it. All at once, they realized that Elsa was behind it.

"It's working!" Killian exclaimed, hurrying over to the spot where the tunnel was forming, with David, Henry and Regina following moments later. "Emma!"

The instant the tunnel had been fully formed, Killian crouched down to peer inside. What he saw nearly made his heart stop. The woman he concluded must be Elsa was crouching down, hovering over Emma's seemingly lifeless body.

" _ **Emma!**_ "

Upon hearing Killian's shout, Elsa looked up briefly, but then returned her attention to Emma. Carefully, she carefully maneuvered Emma's still unresponsive form closer to the opening in the ice wall and helped Killian pull her out.

"Emma," Killian muttered once she was safely out, cradling her in his arms. "Emma, please. Don't do this to me, love. Open your eyes." Emma showed no indication that she heard him, as the only sign of life came from her shallow breathing and occasional shiver. But the unsettling bluish tint of her skin made it hard for anybody to feel relief from that.

Before anyone could say or do anything further, the flashing lights of an approaching ambulance appeared, catching everyone's attention

"Archie must have called for help," Henry theorized.

As the EMTs emerged from the ambulance and went to work on checking Emma's vitals, David busied himself with helping Elsa step out of mouth of the ice cave.

"You did it," he stated, smiling warmly at the woman. "You saved her."

"Yes, I did," Elsa nodded, still appearing crestfallen. "But I also endangered her. You owe me nothing."

"I owe your sister everything," David countered. "And what I said was true. She helped me, and now I'm gonna help you. This isn't over. We're gonna find Anna. I promise you that." After a pause, Elsa finally met David's eyes, giving him a grateful smile. However, the smile faded slightly when her attention returned to Emma, who was currently being strapped to a stretcher.

"She's regained consciousness, but is experiencing hypothermia," one of the EMTs announced, addressing David directly. "We're going to have to bring her to the hospital for treatment. The boy, Henry, has already been cleared to ride in the back with her, but there's room for you, too."

David started to open his mouth to express his thanks for the EMT's gesture, but then his attention was caught by Killian, who hadn't let go of Emma's hand once while the EMTs had been undergoing their examination. He couldn't help but notice the pirate's expression was still strained.

"I appreciate the offer," David announced. "But…let him ride with her, instead."

"Are…are you sure?" the EMT asked, casting a wary glance over at Killian.

"Yes, I am," David replied firmly. "Besides, there's a matter I need to see to, first." The EMT still looked slightly reluctant to allow Killian to ride in the back of the ambulance, but he didn't say another word against it. Moments later, the ambulance drove off, leaving David alone with Elsa and Regina.

"So," Regina stated without preamble. "You really let Captain Guyliner go chaperone my son?"

"If you have a problem with that, perhaps you should remember the time Hook risked his life protecting Henry from Zelena's flying monkeys," David challenged. "Do you really believe Henry's not safe with Hook?" When Regina didn't reply to the question, he went on. "Now, I realize you and I have never really seen eye-to-eye. But there's something I might need your help with. And the sooner we take care of it, the sooner we can head off to the hospital to rejoin Hook and Henry. Are you willing to help me?"

"And what is it you need me to help you with?" Regina asked.

* * *

By the time David, Regina and Elsa had gotten to Emma's room in the ER, Mary Margret had already been notified and beaten them there. She was currently fussing over Emma, who was awake, but hooked up to a nasal cannula and an intravenous drip. She was also wrapped up in heavy looking blankets. Henry and Killian were also there, with Henry sitting at the foot of Emma's bed and Killian on the cushioned stool next to the bed. David realized he was not surprised to see Killian was still maintaining his hold on Emma's hand.

"Emma?" David said, announcing his presence as he entered the room with Regina and Elsa close behind. "Are you okay?" Emma responded with a weak smile.

"Yeah," she replied softly. "It's probably not as bad as it looks. Dr. Whale just thought it best to make sure I was getting warm oxygen. Even the stuff in the IV was warmed up."

"They're planning to keep her overnight, too," Mary Margret added. "For observation. It's a good thing the hospital's emergency generators kicked in. They should last long enough for them to repair the fallen powerline. And you must be Elsa." The last statement was directed at the woman who was standing a close distance away, watching the small family in silence.

"I'm sorry for what happened," Elsa muttered. "I didn't mean to…"

"Elsa," Emma interrupted. "It's all right. I'm okay." Elsa nodded once to show her acceptance of Emma's reassurance, but her expression remained downtrodden.

"Perhaps you can answer a few questions for us, now," Regina stated, resting a hand on Henry's shoulder. "Such as how you ended up in that urn? Did you do something to cross Rumpelstiltskin?"

"I don't remember," Elsa admitted. "I don't know how I ended up there. Or who this Rumpelstiltskin is."

"Well, what _do_ you remember?" Mary Margret asked kindly.

"I remember my sister, Anna. Years ago, our parents went on a voyage overseas, but their ship went down during a storm. We'd always believed that they were going on a diplomatic mission. But recently, I found my mother's old diary. It revealed the real reason for our parents' journey was because of me. And my powers. My sister, Anna, refused to believe our parents were afraid of me, so she left home to find out the truth. I can't remember much after that. One moment, I'm watching the ship Anna left on sailing away, and the next, I'm here.

"Now I don't know what happened to my sister. And I even lost her necklace, so I have nothing of hers."

"Then let's say we find her," David announced, holding up the shepherd's crook that he was holding.

"What's that for, Grandpa?" Henry asked.

"Back when I lived on my mother's farm," David began, "There was a time when we lived under the control of Bo Peep."

"The one with the lost sheep?" Emma blinked.

"The rhyme about her doesn't represent her well," David clarified. "Her 'sheep' were the people she controlled with her extortion racket. She used this crook to find the people she branded. So it was impossible for anyone to escape. But that's when I met Anna. Though she called herself Joan when we met. Without her help, I never would have found the courage to stand up to Bo Peep and free everyone from her. For that, I owe her. But before we took Bo Peep down, Anna got branded with this crook, too. So we can use it to find out where she is."

As David finished his tale, he passed the crook over to Elsa who accepted it gratefully. For a long moment, she simply stared at the crook, studying it carefully. Finally, she shook her head.

"I don't see anything," she sighed.

"It should work," David muttered, frowning in concern.

"Is it broken?" Killian asked, now gently stroking his thumb against the back of Emma's hand.

"Or does it mean something happened to her?" Elsa wondered.

Briefly, a silence marred only by the ambient sounds of the hospital room fell, with no one knowing quite what to say. After a few seconds, however, Emma sat up a little straighter in bed.

"Wait," she said. "What's that sound?" At first, it wasn't clear what sound Emma was referring to, but when everyone strained their eyes, they managed to hear a distinctive thumping sound that seemed to be coming from the crook in Elsa's hands.

"It's a heartbeat," Regina realized.

"Hear that, Elsa?" Emma asked, smiling warmly over at her. "We might not know where your sister is. But we know the most important thing."

"She's alive," Elsa agreed with a grateful nod.

"And we will find her," David promised. "That's what this family does. We find people. We always do, because we really, _really_ don't like to give up."

* * *

 **AN:** This chapter, I tried to address/correct some issues that arose with the actual episode. First of all, why wasn't Emma taken to the hospital? The woman had lost consciousness and was clearly suffering from hypothermia. She needed medical attention. Also, how would Mary Margret adding fuel to the machine cause the power to come back on? The electrical pole was down. Then again, I don't know much about electrical grids and the like, so perhaps I'm not the one to judge how realistic that was. Even in this chapter, I had to fudge some things, as I'm not sure if maps displaying the layout of electrical wires and the areas they affect even exist.


	5. Looking for Clues

Jefferson was jolted awake when he felt the bed next to him being suddenly jostled. Glancing over his shoulder, he quickly was able to make out the silhouette of Belle, sitting upright in bed. But it wasn't until Jefferson's eyes were able to adjust to the faint light of twilight that he saw Belle was shaking like a leaf. The instant that fact registered, he awoke fully and immediately moved forward to see what was wrong.

"Belle?" he whispered in concern. "Is everything all right? Did you just have a nightmare?"

"It's nothing," Belle replied, a bit too quickly. "It's just a silly thing."

"No, it's not," Jefferson insisted. "You're shaking! If your nightmare upset you that much, then it can't be something silly. What was it?" Belle paused for a moment before replying, but once she began, her voice continued to shake with residual terror.

"It was the dream demon, Epiales," she admitted. "I dreamt…that he came back. And he came after you. And Grace. And our friends. And….I couldn't do anything about it. I just stood there, watching it all, and…." Belle's voice trailed off at that point, but Jefferson didn't need her to continue. Instead, he simply wrapped her up in his arms, occasionally rubbing at her back in a consoling way.

"It's okay, Belle," he finally said, placing a comforting kiss atop her head. "You have nothing to be embarrassed about. I'm the one who should be sorry. It never occurred to me that you might have lingering nightmares after your ordeal in the Dream World."

"Actually, this is the first time I've dreamt about it," Belle admitted. "It's been weeks since we came back to Storybrooke, and I've never experienced a nightmare before now. I wonder….if it's because of Arthur showing up."

"That…that makes sense," Jefferson said thoughtfully. "We did encounter him briefly after escaping the Dream World. So it's possible you've subconsciously associated him with Epiales."

"Yeah, that's probably it," Belle muttered, still shaking slightly.

"You think there's more than that?" Jefferson prompted, hearing the doubt in her voice.

"I just can't forget the expression he had on his face when he started asking me about the Dark One's dagger. Why was he so interested on where it went? What could he possibly want with it?"

At that moment, there was a small interruption as the door to the bedroom opened. Looking up, they saw Grace standing in the doorway, dressed in her nightgown.

"Papa? Belle?" Grace began. "Is everything okay? I thought I heard someone scream."

"It's okay, Grace," Belle reassured, quickly wiping away a tear. "I just had a bad nightmare. Just lingering memories of the time we spent in the Dream World. I'm sorry if I woke you up, too."

"Oh. Well, maybe lighting the candles again will help?" Grace suggested, gesturing to the unlit candle that had been left on the nearby bedside table to help provide light during the power outage the night before.

"Candles?" Jefferson repeated, glancing over at the candle in question.

"Henry told me about it," Grace explained, taking a seat at the foot of the bed. "After he woke up from his sleeping curse, he experienced something of a lingering side effect, in which he went back to that cursed netherworld when he slept. Henry said it eventually went away, but before it did, his Grandpa David would light a candle to help keep the nightmares away, explaining he used to do the same for Snow White back in the Enchanted Forest, when she was having lingering nightmares from her own sleeping curse. I know Ruby said what happened to you wasn't the same as a sleeping curse, Belle, but…maybe getting trapped by that dream demon came with a similar side effect. So maybe lighting a candle will help you, too."

In spite of the lingering feeling of dread, Belle still felt a smile forming on her face, visibly appreciative of the little girl's gesture.

"Thank you, Grace." Moments later, Grace initiated a hug that Belle gratefully returned.

* * *

Midmorning found the town hall filled with various townspeople, who had shown up for the emergency town meeting that David and Mary Margret had organized.

"Thank you all for coming out today," David begin, addressing the assembled group. "As some of you might be aware, we have some newcomers in Storybrooke. First is the renowned King Arthur, who was brought here by a mysterious fog along with some of his knights. Next is a young woman named Elsa. She was trapped in an urn that was brought back by the friends who had ventured into the Enchanted Forest to properly secure the items left behind in Rumpelstiltskin's vault."

"If she came from his vault," a townsperson interrupted, "then does that mean she's dangerous?"

"We assure you that Elsa is a friend," Mary Margret replied. "She poses no danger to anyone here."

"Wasn't she the one who attacked Sister Anser?" Leroy suddenly chimed in. "And created that snow monster?

"Well, yes, but…."

"And I heard she's why Emma was taken to the hospital last night!"

"That's right! My friend was in the next room over, recovering from a tonsillectomy! He overheard everything when the ambulance brought her in with hyperthermia!"

In an instant, everyone had dissolved into a panicked frenzy, ignoring David and Mary Margret's attempts to regain their attention. Everyone was so busy firing off fearful speculations and concerns, they didn't notice the lone woman slipping out of the hall with a satisfied smile on her face.

Just when it looked as if the townspeople were about to form an angry mob, a sudden, earsplitting, screeching sound split the air. In unison, everyone cringed and covered their ears to dull the bone chilling sound, turning to see what was causing it. Immediately, they saw Regina, dragging her fingernails across a nearby chalkboard. The moment she saw that everyone in the hall was looking at her, she flashed them a smug smile, folding her arms in satisfaction.

"I believe," she announced, "that the Uncharmings weren't finished speaking," At these words, Regina caught Mary Margret's eye and gave her a single nod, nonverbally urging her to continue.

"Thank you, Regina," Mary Margret said, visibly appreciative of the assistance. "Now, as we've been trying to say, it is true that Elsa played a part in those incidents. But Emma has assured us that what happened last night was simply an accident. And the Snow Monster was simply an act of self-defense. We have to remember that, while we have cursed memories to help acclimate ourselves to this land, Elsa was brought here with no warning, and no memory of how she even ended up in that urn. Think about how confused and scared you would be if you were in her place."

Glancing around the room, David and Mary Margret were relieved to see that everyone was looking reasonably chastised. Taking advantage of this, David continued.

"Right now, Elsa is hoping to find information on her sister, Anna. If anyone thinks they might have any information about Anna and her current whereabouts, we ask you to let us know."

The rest of the meeting went over without any further incident. However, no one seemed to have any information to offer in regards to Elsa or Anna. As everyone filed out of the building at the conclusion of the meeting, however, Mary Margret noticed Neal was still hanging around.

"Is something the matter?" she asked, approaching him.

"No, I wouldn't say that," Neal replied with a shrug. "Just…. Is Emma still in the hospital?"

"Oh, no." Mary Margret said. "She was cleared to go home this morning. But we all felt it was best that she took things easy today. She's back home resting."

"Ah, okay," Neal nodded in understanding. "I take it… Hook's with her?"

"Actually, yes he is."

"Do you have a problem with that?" Regina cut in, appearing at Mary Margret's side with a stern look on her face. Instead of replying, Neal simply looked at Regina with an unreadable expression before turning and heading off.

"Regina," Mary Margret sighed. "It wouldn't hurt to at least _try_ to get along with Neal, would it? For Henry's sake?" In response, Regina simply rolled her eyes.

* * *

Emma sat at the base of the metal staircase that led to the upper level of the loft apartment, wondering briefly if it was worth discussing the possibility of buying a small sofa or armchair with her parents. She couldn't believe it had only just now dawned on her the small apartment didn't have much to offer in the way of comfortable seating. The closest you could get was sitting on the bed.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the two figures moving about the kitchenette. An amused smile appeared on her face as she watched Killian trying to explain the purposes of all the modern appliances, using words like ' _bread toaster_ ' and ' _flameless oven_.' She supposed that Kilian really was the best person to help Elsa adjust to her new surroundings. Especially since Robin and his Merry Men were occupied with doing the same with Arthur and his knights. If she was being honest with herself, Emma didn't like the idea of having Elsa anywhere near Arthur. She couldn't forget how she had sensed he'd been lying about how he got to Storybrooke. If he couldn't even be honest about that, then what exactly was he trying to hide? Whatever it was, Emma felt it best to try and keep Elsa far away from it. After all, she had enough to worry about with locating her missing sister.

Besides, Killian seemed to be a rather good teacher, especially considering the modern realm was probably just as strange to him as it was to Elsa. She couldn't deny that she was genuinely impressed with how quickly he was acclimating himself to this world, even though he still struggled with the proper names for everyday objects. But even that was strangely endearing in itself.

After a moment or two longer of sitting in silence, Emma took a moment to stretch, letting out a soft groan in the process. The sound seemed to alert Killian and Elsa of her presence, for they both glanced over in response.

"You all right, love?" Killian asked, promptly walking over to make sure the blanket that was draped over Emma's shoulders was still securely in place.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Emma replied.

"Is there anything I could get for you? I could make you some that hot cocoa drink you love. Your mother showed me how to operate the stovetop last week."

For a brief moment, Emma felt the urge to get defensive. Did he really think she was that helpless that she had to be babied like this? But when she glanced over at him, the look on his face made her stop. There was nothing reflected in his eyes but adoration, and maybe a touch of fear. Once that registered, Emma felt the angry words dissolve in her throat. The fear she understood. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she knew that she could have died last night. She supposed it was understandable that Killian would have reacted badly to that fact. She remembered what he'd told her about Liam and Milah, and how both had died in his arms. What had last night felt like for him?

However, her understanding was quickly overshadowed by the acknowledgment of the amount of devotion in his eyes. She couldn't remember anyone looking at her quite like that before. Not even Neal. With Killian looking at her that way, it gave her the impression that he would quite literally do anything for her. But no one could possibly…..

Emma quickly gave herself a mental shake, refusing to let herself fully formulate that thought.

"Yeah," she agreed, trying not to meet Killian's eyes. "Hot cocoa sounds fine." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Killian nodding in agreement before heading to the cupboard where the canister of hot cocoa mix was stored.

Hoping to alleviate the slight tension she felt, Emma redirected her attention to Elsa.

"Hey, Elsa? How are you doing?"

"I should be the one asking you that," Elsa replied.

"Don't worry about that. Last night was an accident, remember? Besides, you were also the one who helped me get out of that mess. And you did your best to keep me from falling asleep."

"Even so, it was kind of you and your family to allow me to stay with you for the time being."

At that moment, the conversation was cut off by the sound of a knock at the front door. Killian, most likely noticing that Emma was starting to get up, quickly dodged in front of her to get to the door first. He momentarily froze, however, when he saw it was Neal at the door.

"Neal?" Emma blinked in equal surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Hey, Emma," Neal replied, casting her a small smile. "I heard about what happened last night. Glad to see you're okay."

"Thanks," Emma replied, almost automatically. "But did you really come all the way here just to check up on me? You could have just called."

"I know," Neal admitted with a shrug. "But…there's something else. I guess…I came here because I knew Hook would be here, too. See, the main reason why I came by…. It does concern him."

"Me?" Killian repeated, taken aback.

"Yeah. And it's not exactly something that I could really explain over the phone. Figured it was better to tell you in person. So… could I come in?"

After a brief pause, Killian stepped aside to allow Neal entry. Right away, they saw he was carrying an old duffel bag, which he placed on the counter of the kitchenette.

"What do you want to say?" Emma prompted, eyeing the duffel bag in clear curiosity.

"Well, I went by Dad's old mansion, like I said," Neal began. "Trying to find any clues he might have left that could help us shed some light on the Elsa situation."

"Did you find anything?" Elsa asked.

"Um…." Neal muttered, shifting uncomfortably in place. "Well, I _did_ find something, but unfortunately nothing that could help you, Elsa."

"Then what?" Killian prompted. "You said it concerned me?"

"Yeah, I think it does," Neal said. "See, I…. stumbled across a hidden room. Dad must have sealed it with blood magic or something, because Belle says she never knew it was there. I found something stashed away inside this room."

"What?" Emma asked.

Neal didn't reply to the question. Instead, he turned and unzipped his duffel bag and carefully pulled something out. It wasn't until he set the object down on the counter that everyone could clearly see what it was. It was a large glass jar. Inside the jar, floating in what appeared to be some sort of preserving liquid, was a severed human hand.

* * *

 **AN:** Yep, I'm bringing in that plot point.

Sorry for the lack of plot in this chapter. But I figure it's good to let the characters breathe every so often.


	6. The Scavenger Hunt

**AN** : Yes, I finally updated! Really sorry it took so long. The Christmas season is brutal in retail. I should have more time to write in the next few months, though. Either way, I hope this chapter is worth the wait. Please let me know what you think.

* * *

"I still can't believe this," Emma muttered, a scowl of disgust on her face. "Your father….actually _kept_ Hook's hand in a jar? That's….that's…"

"Yeah, I know," Neal agreed with an embarrassed shrug. "That's really messed up."

Shaking her head, Emma redirected her attention across the room, where Killian and Regina were studying the severed hand closely. For not the first time, she started to wonder what was going on in Killian's mind. He hadn't said anything since identifying the hand as the one he'd lost centuries ago. Was he angry that Rumpelstiltskin kept the hand as some kind of sick trophy? Upset at the reminder of everything he'd lost on that day? She wanted to ask him what he was thinking and feeling, but with Neal and Regina present, it felt like it would be putting him on the spot to ask him now.

At the same time, Emma couldn't help but feel a small amount of guilt lurking at the back of her mind, noticing the discarded mug that Elsa had left on the counter. They had promised her that they'd help her find Anna, but here they were, getting districted by the discovery of Killian's lost hand. While she knew that this wasn't a trivial find, she still felt guilty that it was keeping them from focusing on helping Elsa, even though she had assured them that she didn't want anyone putting their lives on hold just for her. It was a small consolation that Mary Margret had volunteered to take Elsa down to the town hall in order to search through the town census records, to see if they could find any record of Anna living in town.

Emma's thoughts were interrupted when she noticed Regina straightening up to full height out of the corner of her eye.

"Well, Captain Guyliner," Regina announced, breaking the silence. "It looks like you might be in luck. Gold did a good job at keeping the hand preserved for this long, so it might be possible to reattach it."

"You…you can reattach it?" Killian repeated, looking up from his hand in amazement.

"It so happens there's a spell that can do the trick. I chanced across it once, during my early days of learning magic. Isn't that why you called me down here? To ask me to put it back for you? Or would you prefer to continue being the one-handed pirate?"

For a long moment, there was complete silence, in which everyone simply watched Killian as he continued to stare at his hand, visibly deep in thought. Finally, he wordlessly reached up and removed his hook from the leather brace and placed it onto the counter.

"Let's do it, then," he announced.

"Whoa," Neal sputtered as Regina magically summoned her spell book and started to flip through it. "You're _actually_ doing this? You're sure you wanna go through with it?"

"Do you have a problem with him wanting his hand back?" Regina challenged, eyeing him sharply.

"Well…." Neal mumbled, visibly self-conscious upon noticing everyone's eyes on him. "Just…isn't there _another_ way we could do this? Do we… _have_ to use….?"

"If you have a _non-magical_ way to reattach his hand, by all means, enlighten us," Regina snapped. Neal started to open his mouth, but apparently thought better of it. Instead, he simply shook his head and moved away, still visibly unhappy about the matter.

"Now then," Regina continued, returning her attention to her spellbook. "Are you ready, then?"

"Aye," Killian announced, a hard, determined gleam in his eyes.

As Regina raised her hand, Emma realized she was holding her breath, unable to look away. Even so, it took her a few seconds to realize the hand was no longer encased in the jar. Killian, seemingly noticing it at the same time, quickly glanced down at his left arm. In an instant, his eyes widened in amazement, and he lifted his left arm, experimentally flexing the fingers of his newly restored hand. Slowly, a wide, delighted smile stretched across his face; a smile that was still on his face when he turned to look at Emma.

"Wow," Emma chuckled, stepping over to get a better look at the restored hand. "Does it feel any different? Having both hands again?"

"It's still sinking in, I suppose," Killian remarked, once again studying his hand as he continued opening and closing his fingers.

"So…" Emma began, a playful gleam starting to shine in her eyes. "What do I call you now? Captain Hand?"

"Killian will do," Killian replied, rolling his eyes while fighting back a chuckle.

* * *

Henry made his way towards the group of children gathered in Storybrooke Centennial Park. Today was the first troop meeting for the Storybrooke Scouts, even though their official uniforms were not quite ready. It turned out that the main seamstresses at Modern Fashions, Perla and Suzie, were experiencing a few creative differences over the design and colors of the uniforms, which had pushed production back a bit.

As he looked around, he could see quite a few of the former Lost Boys, lurking at the edge of the group. Some of them still seemed a bit unsure of where they fit in in the town. He also saw Jefferson and Belle in the middle of dropping off Grace, and Marco doing the same with Pinocchio. It was still a bit strange to remember that the little boy was the same man who had once tried to help him get Emma to believe. He wondered if he'd ever regain his memories of his life as August Booth.

"Henry!"

Upon hearing his name being called, Henry glanced over to see two other kids jogging over. Right away, he recognized them as Nick and Ava, the twin children who were known as Hansel and Gretel back in the Enchanted Forest. It had been just over a year since they'd last seen each other, when Emma had helped reunite them with their father. A part of him had wanted to stop by and see them after the curse had broken in order to see how they were doing now that they remembered. But there had always seemed to be something getting in the way. First with Emma and his grandmother getting trapped in the Enchanted Forest, then him meeting his dad and everyone trying to figure out what to do with Cora, him getting taken to Neverland; there always seemed to be some sort of crisis that kept everyone busy. And it certainly didn't help that Nick and Ava were in a different grade and weren't in any of his classes at school.

"Hey, Ava, Nick," Henry greeted once the twins had reached him. "Sorry we haven't talked in a while."

"It's okay," Ava said, waving away his apology. "You remember how everyone talks at school. We've heard about how busy you've been this past year. We're just glad we finally got to see you again. We've been wanting to thank you and your mom for so long. Not only did you help us find our dad again, you also helped us all remember."

Before Henry could reply to that, he noticed that Robin had approached them. Accompanying the man was his small son, Roland, and a young girl that Henry didn't recognize.

"Sorry to interrupt you three," Robin began. "But I was hoping to ask you for a small favor, Henry."

"Sure!" Henry agreed readily. "What is it?"

"As you know," Robin explained, "My men and I aren't the only newcomers to this town. King Arthur and his knights also have wound up here, when they were returning home from a quest. Well, one of the knights in question had his daughter with him. Since her mother passed away when she was very young, and she didn't have any other family in Camelot, she had been journeying with her father. When Sir Morgan heard that I was overseeing a scavenger hunt for the children in town, he requested that Violet participate. He thought she might feel better about being trapped in this new realm if she spent time with kids her own age. Would you be okay if she joined your group for the scavenger hunt today?"

"Okay," Henry said, nodding his head. "That will be great!"

"Yeah, of course!" Ava agreed, smiling over at Violet, who returned the smile shyly.

"Thank you for doing this," Robin said, patting Henry's shoulder in gratitude before stepping away to continue organizing everything.

"So, your name is Violet?" Nick asked, turning to the new girl.

"Yes," Violet replied.

"Well, welcome to Storybrooke, Violet," Henry greeted, reaching out to shake her hand.

* * *

Nearly an hour had passed since the scavenger hunt had officially started, and Henry was starting to feel discouraged. It wasn't as if his team, which consisted of himself, Violet, Grace, Nick and Ava, wasn't doing well. They had already found most of the items on their checklist, including a stick in the shape of a 'y', a chewed leaf, and an edible mushroom. Nick had even managed to locate a blue feather, which met the requirement of 'something colorful.' The problem was that his friends were finding all the required items without any noticeable effort. They had all credited their successes to their experiences while living in the Enchanted Forest, before the Dark Curse had been cast. Even Violet had been able to contribute, as she was able to identify various tree species simply by looking at the bark, a skill she'd learned while traveling with her father and the other knights. While Henry had always known it, it was finally starting to sink in. He was the only one in town who had never set foot inside the Enchanted Forest. The only one who had never seen the world where his parents and grandparents were born in. Even Emma had spent some time in the Enchanted Forest, when she and Mary Margret had gotten themselves trapped there while trying to defeat the wraith that had targeted Regina. But, barring the time he'd spent in Neverland after Greg and Tamara had kidnapped him, he'd never known any other world than this one. The more he thought about it, the more he started to wonder. Did he really belong in Storybrooke, or with everyone else in town? Yes, it's where his family was, but were family ties good enough? Could it be that he didn't belong anywhere? His mother was the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming, his father was the son of Rumpelstiltskin, and his adopted mother was the Evil Queen. By all accounts, that fact alone stated he didn't really belong in The Land Without Magic. But if this scavenger hunt proved anything, it's that he probably didn't truly belong in the Enchanted Forest, either.

"Henry? Are you okay?"

The sound of Violet's question snapped him out of his thoughts, and he looked up to see the girl in question looking at him in concern.

"I'm fine," Henry lied, giving her what he'd hoped was a convincing smile. Trying to continue to school his features, he looked around at his other friends, who also looked concerned. But Nick, seeming to pick up on the fact that Henry preferred to let the matter drop, returned his attention to the scavenger hunt list.

"It looks like we just have one more thing to find," he announced. "Something smooth."

Wordlessly, the five friends began to move about, studying the ground in the search for a smooth object. However, Grace kept casting worried glances over at Henry, feeling concerned for her friend's distant behavior. So she was the first to notice Henry pause and crouch down to the ground.

"Henry? Did you find something?"

"I think so," Henry replied.

Immediately, everyone else came over to see what Henry had discovered. It turned out it was a small patch of ice on the forest floor.

"Well, I'd say that counts as something smooth," Ava stated. "The question is, how are we going to take it back to show it to Robin?"

"Hey, it looks like there's more," Violet added, pointing a finger. Sure enough, there were even more patches of ice that seemed to be leading off in one direction.

"That's weird," Henry muttered. "It almost looks like a trail."

Curiosity getting the better of them, the five friends began to follow the trail of ice deeper into the woods, in order to see where it would lead. However, Nick started to look around nervously when I became clear the trail was leading them further away from the path.

"I really think we should turn around," he suggested. "We're starting to get a little too far from the actual trail."

"But aren't you curious to see where this ice path leads?" Grace asked. "Besides, if we get lost, we can always retrace our steps."

"Shhh," Henry whispered. "I think I see something."

Sure enough, there seemed to be a large object up ahead, partially obscured by the trees. After sharing a glance with the others, Henry cautiously continued on, with the others following his lead. When they got closer to the object, they realized it was an old ice cream truck.

"That's strange," Grace stated. "What's an ice cream truck doing all the way out here?"

"Wait a second," Henry continued, looking closer at the side of the truck. " _Any Given Sundae_? I know that place. That's the ice cream shop next to Granny's."

All at once, the sound of a twig snapping nearby made everyone jump. Right away, Henry was struck by a sense of foreboding.

"Let's get out of here!" he cried. Needing no further invitation, the children started to run off. But before they could reach the safety of the tree line, they all felt something clamping down around their ankles. It was so instantaneous, a few of them even lost their balance and nearly stumbled to the ground. Looking down, the children all saw their feet and ankles were encased in a block of ice.

"I'm sorry, but I can't allow you five to go anywhere," a voice announced. When Henry glanced over his shoulder, he saw the woman he recognized as the lady who ran the ice cream shop, glowering down at them. For a second or two, Henry looked between the woman and the ice keeping him and his friends trapped. Right away, he figured it out.

"You have ice powers, too?" he exclaimed.

"And that," the mysterious woman announced, "is why I can't allow you to go."

* * *

Emma could not stop herself from occasionally glancing down at Killian's restored hand, which was entwined with hers as they made their way down the street. Even though a few days had passed since Regina had reattached the hand, there were moments when Emma still expected to feel the cold metal of a hook when she reached out to take his hand.

Mary Margret and Elsa had found no trace of Anna within the town census, so they were all planning to spend the afternoon brainstorming in the hopes of coming up with any ideas on how to continue the search for Anna. And maybe figure out what led to Elsa losing her memories. Not to mention a new mystery that had sprung up. When Elsa had attempted to remove the wall of ice she'd constructed, she found that she couldn't. For some reason, her magic was completely ineffective against the icy barrier, even though it seemed to work fine everywhere else in town. In an effort to help them find some answers for the rising number of mysteries, Belle had offered to close the library to the general public for the day in order to grant them exclusive access to the library. While there had been no obvious signs of trouble coming from the townspeople, Emma, David and Mary Margret still felt it best to try and keep Elsa out of sight as much as possible.

As Emma and Killian passed by Granny's, they happened to notice three figures standing just outside. While they weren't surprised to see Jefferson standing with Belle, with his arm casually wrapped around her waist, they both had to pause when they noticed the man that Jefferson was talking to was Dr. Whale.

As if she could sense Emma and Killian watching, Belle glanced over towards them and smiled in greeting. Briefly, she turned to Jefferson and Dr. Whale and said a few words, apparently excusing herself politely, before stepping away to join them.

"Hi," Belle greeted once she was in earshot. "David, Mary Margret and Elsa are already at the library. I loaned them the key so they could let themselves in. Sorry I didn't let you in myself. Jefferson and I were picking up some food for all of you at Granny's so you'd have something to eat while you worked on helping Elsa when we ran into Dr. Whale. Turns out, he and Jefferson actually knew each other before the curse hit."

"I bet there's an interesting story behind that meeting," Emma commented.

"I know," Belle agreed. "Though I'm betting it involved his old magic hat somehow, considering Dr. Whale didn't come from the Enchanted Forest like the rest of us. Jefferson promised he'd tell me the whole story later, though."

Once Dr. Whale had gone on his way and Jefferson had rejoined the group, they started to make their way towards the library.

"Shame your parents hadn't found anything about Anna in the town census," Jefferson began, looking over at Emma.

"Yeah, that was a disappointment," Emma agreed. At that moment, she was struck by an idea. "Hey, Jefferson? You used to observe everyone in town with your telescope when the curse was in effect. You didn't happen to see anyone who fit Anna's description, did you?"

"I'm afraid not. Though, to be honest, I admit I wasn't really paying close attention to anyone else besides Grace. At least, not before you showed up and things started changing."

"I see," Emma replied, her shoulders slumping slightly in disappointment. "It just would be nice if we had _some_ sort of lead as to what happened to Anna after she left my dad's old farm."

Nervously, Belle started to bite her lower lip, the pit of her stomach churning uneasily. She hoped that her sudden change in mood had gone unnoticed by the others. Cautiously, she glanced over at them and was relieved that Emma and Jefferson were focused on their conversation. But then, she noticed Killian was looking right at her. From the way he was now looking at her in concern, Belle could tell that he had indeed noticed her change in expression. So she was relieved when a distraction arrived in the form of Robin, who had just rounded the corner and proceeded to make a beeline in their direction.

"Oh, hi, Robin," Emma greeted. "Did the Storybrooke Scouts meeting end already? I thought we still had a few hours before we had to pick everyone up."

"No, technically, the scout meeting is still going on," Robin stated. "Little John and Friar Tuck are with them, instructing everyone on how to find water in the forest. But… there's a matter I had to tell you about. I broke everyone up into teams for a scavenger hunt I put together with the rest of the Merry Men, and placed Henry and Grace with the Zimmer children, and a young girl who arrived alongside Arthur and his knights. But they never showed up at the rendezvous point at the designated time."

"Wait, you're saying Grace is _missing_?!" Jefferson exclaimed, his face instantly paling.

"Jefferson, try not to panic," Belle soothed, reaching out to lightly squeeze his hand. "I'm sure she's fine."

"Belle's right," Emma agreed. "Robin said they were on a scavenger hunt. They probably just wandered away from the trail and got lost. We just have to go out and find them."

"And where do you suggest we start looking?" Jefferson challenged. "If they did simply wander off, we don't even know where they were when they let the path."

"What about your mother, love?" Killian suggested, addressing Emma. "Wasn't she a skilled tracker back in the Enchanted Forest? Perhaps she could help us track down the wayward children."

"Good idea," Emma said, casting him a grateful smile. "Belle, would you and Jefferson mind helping my father and Elsa while my mom and I go to look for Henry and the others?"

"No," Jefferson announced shaking his head. "You cannot seriously expect me to sit around while Grace is missing. I'm going with you."

"I guess I should have expected that," Emma allowed. "Killian, would you….?"

"Sorry, love," Killian shrugged. "But I'd much rather assist you."

"All right fine," Emma sighed. "Belle, what about you?"

"Well, if the three of you are going off with Mary Margret to find the children," Belle said, "I suppose I should stay here and help David and Elsa in the library until you get back. Besides, it's my library, so if they need help in locating any reference material, I should probably be there to help locate it."

"And I should probably go convey the news to Regina," Robin volunteered. "While it's true the children are probably not in any immediate danger, I expect Regina will be put out if she wasn't informed that Henry went missing."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Emma agreed. "Make sure she knows we'll call her the moment we find him."

* * *

Deep in the woods, Henry and Ava were trying to execute a bit of teamwork by trying to maneuver the sticks they were holding to pick up a jagged looking rock that was just out of their reach. However, despite their best efforts, the rock kept slipping out from between the sticks.

"It's no use," Ava groaned when they once again failed at gripping the rock with their makeshift tongs. "I don't think this is going to work, Henry."

"We have to keep trying," Henry insisted. "Unless anyone has a different suggestion on how to break through the ice?" To emphasize his words, he gestured to the icy manacles that were keeping the five children trapped.

"Sorry, Henry," Grace muttered. "I can't think of anything. It looks like we're really stuck this time. If only that woman hadn't taken our phones. We could have called for help."

"But what could she possibly want with us?" Violet asked.

Before anyone could answer Violet's question, the woman from the ice cream shop suddenly emerged from the back of her truck and stepped over to them.

"Well, I have to admit, I wish there was another way to do this," she announced. "I didn't want to have to resort to harming children. But at least I can take advantage of this situation without resorting to killing you."

"Why are you doing this?" Violet demanded. "What have we done to you?"

"Oh, please don't misunderstand me, child. This is nothing personal. But I can't have anyone going around telling people that there's someone else with powers like mine in town. They have to believe that Elsa is the only one capable of attacking you with ice magic."

"Wait, _Elsa?_ " Henry repeated. "That's what this is about? You want to frame Elsa?"

"Why do you want to hurt Elsa?" Grace exclaimed.

"Of course I don't want to hurt her! But she has to understand," the woman explained in an unsettlingly calm manner. "When the people of this town find you, they will think she's responsible, and they'll turn on her. Because that's what happens to people like us. In the end, everyone will see us a monsters."

"It won't work!" Henry cried. "Elsa is with my mom and grandparents right now. She has an alibi. Everyone will know she couldn't have been in two places at once."

"And you think the people in this town will take the word of the three people trying to harbor her?" the mystery woman challenged. "Especially if all the evidence points to her as being the one who attacked you? After all, who else in town has powers like these?"

The woman from the ice cream shop cast Henry a haughty smile upon seeing that he had no response to her statement. Lifting her hand wordlessly, she produced a number of sharp looking icicles that seemed to hover in the air above their heads.

"Once again, I am very sorry for this," she announced. "But just remember that while this will hurt, I'll make sure it won't kill you."

At that moment, just as the woman was preparing to allow the icicles to fall, the blade of a cutlass appeared at her neck.

"That's far enough," Killian snarled, trapping the woman's arm behind her back in an effort to restrain her.

Henry, Grace, Violet, Nick and Ava barely had time to register Killian's sudden appearance when Emma, Jefferson and Mary Margret also appeared on the scene.

"Hey, Dairy Queen!" Emma shouted. "Let them go!"

The woman seemed to start at the sound of Emma's voice, and her head snapped over in the direction of the group that had just arrived.

"Emma?" she whispered, visibly mystified. The tone of her voice seemed to throw Emma for a loop, and she started to look at her, her eyes narrowed in confusion.

"Do we know each other?" she asked.

"Of course not," the woman replied, managing to reign in her surprise. "Your reputation proceeds you, that's all."

While this conversation was occurring, Jefferson and Mary Margret hurried over to the children to see if they were unharmed. However, they both seemed to be at a loss as to how to break the ice that was keeping them restrained. Taking advantage of their inattention, the Snow Queen unleased a wave of magic that forced Killian to release his grip on her wrist, as well as make his weapon slip out of his hand. Once she was free, she redirected her attention at the icicles that still hovered overhead. In the blink of an eye, they seemed to grow even larger.

"Let them go," Emma demanded. "Now!"

"Do you really think your magic is a match for mine?" the woman challenged.

"There's only one way to find out," Emma commented. With that, she let out a magical blast that sent the woman flying backwards.

Killian, moving to try and restrain the woman once again, reached out to retrieve his cutlass from the ground. But when he started to turn back towards his enemy, he felt his left hand inexplicitly seize up. His brow furrowed as he glanced down at the hand in question. For a few seconds, he tried to will his fingers to move, but to no avail.

"Hook!" Mary Margret's voice called out. "Help us free the children!" The plea managed to snap Killian out of his trance, and he returned his attention to the matter at hand. Moving quickly, he approached the spot where the children were still tethered by the ice and tried to chip away at the ice with the tip of his cutlass.

Killian was still working at his task when the Snow Queen managed to get back to her feet. Without hesitation, she attempted to force the icicles to fall, but at the last possible second, Emma managed to magically push everyone out of harm's way. However, even though she could see she'd saved everyone from being injured by the falling icicles, the adrenaline rush of seeing her son, mother and boyfriend in danger had pushed Emma over the edge. Shaking in rage, she snapped her head around to glare at the Snow Queen, who was currently trying to make good her escape. Without a thought, Emma unleased a particularly large magical blast, aiming it at the retreating Snow Queen. But the woman managed to duck out of sight before the magical attack could hit her. Although, the magical blast did release a powerful shockwave that knocked everyone to the ground.

"Is everyone okay?" Mary Margret asked, getting on her knees to look around.

"I think so," Ava replied, dusting herself off before helping her brother to his feet. "Thanks for showing up when you did."

"Did she mention what she was after?" Jefferson questioned while hugging Grace.

"She was planning to frame Elsa," Grace announced. "She wanted everyone to think _she_ was the one who attacked us with her ice magic."

"I don't understand," Emma muttered. "What does she have against Elsa?"

Before anyone could come up with a possible answer, their attention turned to the fearful voice of Violet.

"Henry?" Violet said. "Henry? Are you okay?" In unison, everyone looked over to see Violet kneeling by Henry, who was still lying on the ground, unmoving.

"Henry!?" Emma cried, swooping over to see what was the matter. When she carefully rolled Henry over to check him for obvious injuries, she recoiled at the sight of a fresh cut that had appeared across Henry's forehead. The part that made her insides churn uneasily was the fact that the edges of the cut seemed to be smoking slightly. Immediately, she realized that the injury had been caused by the magical shockwave that she'd created. That knowledge nearly made her stumble backwards in horror.

"Emma?" Mary Margret spoke cautiously.

"Henry," Emma whispered. "I… no, I…."

"It'll be okay, love," Killian soothed, bending down to pull her into a half hug, rubbing her arm in comfort. "He's still breathing, so he'll be okay. Your boy's a strong lad. Let's bring him into town. We can see to him better there."

Emma nodded numbly, but she was still visibly shaken as she followed everyone back towards town, with Jefferson carrying the unconscious Henry. Her internal anguish was so great, even she failed to notice that Killian was once again staring at his left hand in consternation.


	7. Metamorphosis

The atmosphere within the loft apartment was one of tense concern. David and Mary Margret were standing by the metal staircase leading to the upper floor, watching in silence as Regina carefully studied the still unresponsive Henry's wound as he laid atop the quilted bed. Emma was seated in the nearby rocking chair, unable to bring herself to look up from her hands, which were resting on her lap. She didn't even seem to notice Killian's presence as he continued to kneel by her side, occasionally rubbing her arm in comfort.

A short distance away, Elsa, Jefferson, Belle, Grace, Violet, Nick, Ava, Robin and Roland were congregated around the breakfast bar. While they were maintaining a respectful distance from the family, they were unable to bring themselves to leave the small apartment, their intense worry for Henry's wellbeing evident on their faces.

"Fortunately, it doesn't look as if wound was deep," Regina announced, breaking the silence as she brushed some of Henry's hair aside. "I'd say it was just a graze."

"So Henry's going to be okay?" Violet asked, concern filling her voice.

"His forehead might be tender for a few days," Regina replied. "But other than that, I don't think they'll be any lasting damage."

"You hear that?" David soothed, gently addressing Emma. "Henry's going to be okay." However, Emma barely seemed to acknowledge the reassurance, only giving a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

Briefly, Regina glanced over at Emma as well. When she had first heard what had caused Henry's cut, she had been severely temped to explode, especially when she was told _who_ had caused the magical shockwave. But before she could start on her tirade, she'd gotten a good look at Emma's expression and, in light of her tangible distress and shock, she immediately was able to find it in her to rein it in. Letting out a sigh, Regina made a mental note to thank the cricket for allowing her to continue their sessions after the return from Neverland. It appeared that they were proving to be beneficial, after all.

If Regina was going to say anything to help reassure Emma, she never got the chance, as someone started knocking on the door franticly. Since he was the closest to the door, Robin was the one to answer it, revealing Neal standing outside.

"Where's Henry?" he demanded, barging into the apartment without preamble.

"Neal, what are you doing here?" Mary Margret asked.

"I called him," Belle admitted. "I thought he had the right to know what happened."

"Is he okay?" Neal exclaimed, heading right over to the bed where Henry was lying.

"He'll be fine," Regina stated.

"Well, what happened?" Neal questioned, turning to address everyone in the room. "Belle said that Henry got hurt when he ran into someone with the same powers as Elsa, but that's all I know."

For the next few minutes, Ava took it upon herself to relate what had happened, from the moment they started following the trail of ice to the point when Emma's magical surge had driven off the Snow Queen. When she was done, Neal looked stricken.

"Are you saying… _Emma_ was the one who did this?"

"That's not what she said," Killian spoke up, immediately picking up on the tone in Neal's voice. "The Snow Queen was about to attack the children, and Emma stopped her."

"By using _magic_ ," Neal countered. "And _that's_ what hurt Henry. The Snow Queen's magic didn't do this, Emma's did! Is that not what happened?"

"It was an accident," Mary Margret replied.

"And that makes it okay?" Neal argued. "Emma, this is _exactly_ what I was talking about when you said you were going to continue learning magic from Regina! _This_ is what magic does! Accident or not, Henry could have died, and it would have been _your fault_!"

Emma, throughout Neal's tirade, had sat unmoving from her chair. But with his arm still gently wrapped around her, Killian could feel it when she started to shake. In concern, he turned to glance at her face and saw that she looked close to tears. Before he could utter a word, however, Emma had launched herself out of her chair and ran towards the door, managing to pull her wrist out from Killian's grasp as he tried to reach out to stop her. Turning a deaf ear to the sounds of everyone calling after her, Emma threw open the door and ran out of the apartment.

"Well, that was nicely handled," Regina retorted, folding her arms as she directed a scowl at Neal.

"Hey, I was just stating the facts," Neal replied, on the defensive.

"And Emma is upset about it enough," David countered, giving Neal a stern glare. "The last thing she needed was for you to add to her guilt."

"Well, maybe she _should_ feel bad! I _told_ Emma not to mess around with magic. Because this is what magic does. It only hurts people."

"Except when _you_ use it, right?" Killian hissed, his voice menacingly low. Up until now, he had been simply staring at the door Emma had just run out of, his arm partially extended as if to reach out to her. But upon hearing Neal's statement, his mood had shifted from concern and worry to fury.

"What are you talking about?" Neal asked, taken aback by the accusation.

"You're always the one who claims magic is dangerous," Killian snarled. "The one who won't hesitate to object when we turn to magic to get answers, rectify an issue, even restore my hand that _your_ father took from me. But you have no qualms about using magic yourself, do you? That's right, I know about that. Robin told me _exactly_ how you ended up in Neverland. You were willing to resort to any sort of magic necessary to open a portal to Neverland. You didn't have a problem with magic _then_. So which is it? Is magic dangerous or is it only dangerous when _other_ people use it?"

"Opening a portal to save my son is completely different," Neal muttered. "No one gets hurt when you open a portal."

"Really? Then what about Roland?" Killian accused, storming over towards Neal. "That's right, Robin told me about that part, too. How you used Robin's son as bait to get to Neverland. You clearly weren't concerned with risks or keeping everyone from danger then, were you? You know what I think? I think you're still scared of your father. And you've convinced yourself that the fact that Emma has magic means she will turn out the same way as he did. That's the _real_ reason why you left her back then, wasn't it? You weren't trying to help Emma get home. You found out that she had a magical destiny and decided to run."

In response to that accusation, Neal angrily shoved Killian back, but he didn't say a single word in his defense. All he did was direct an enraged scowl at the pirate.

"She's not your father, Baelfire!" Killian persisted. "She didn't ask for her magic! She never sought it out! This was something she was _born_ with!"

"Stop it!" Mary Margret cried, forcing herself between the two, her voice shaking in desperation. "Please, this isn't the time to fight!"

"She's right," David added. "Save your energy for the Snow Queen."

"Speaking of whom," Regina spoke up, "I would really like to know how she managed to get into town. From what the children said, this woman has been running an ice cream shop here in Storybrooke for years. How could someone like her have been in Storybrooke for so long without my knowledge?"

"Well, your curse managed to bring over a lot of people," Jefferson pointed out. "Perhaps it's possible you don't know everyone in this town."

"Maybe it wouldn't hurt to look over the town census again," Robin suggested. "We might not have found anything on Anna the first time, but maybe we can find information on this woman from the ice cream shop."

"If it's all the same," Mary Margret announced, glancing over at the door. "I think I want to go find Emma, first. I don't want her to think the rest of us blame her for what happened." As she completed that statement, Mary Margret cast a withering glance at Neal, who looked reasonably chastised, but didn't say a word in his defense or atonement.

* * *

Emma only stopped running when she'd reached the sheriff's office, but she still felt a ringing in her ears. Once inside, she bent herself over her desk, gripping the sides so tightly, her knuckles turned white. Closing her eyes, she tried to focus on slowing her breathing, but her mind kept replaying the scene over and over again: the crippling panic she felt upon seeing the children in danger, Henry lying unconscious on the ground, and finally, Neal's angry retort. It wasn't until the smell of burnt wood reached her nose that she noticed the desk she was leaning over was starting to smoke. Letting out a startled gasp, Emma staggered backward, staring in shock at the burn marks that had been seared into the sides of her desk, in the exact shape of her handprints. Slightly shaking from the surprise, she glanced down at her hands to see they were glowing with a faint golden light, and were generating a few sparks.

"Emma, are you alright?" a concerned voice asked. Immediately, Emma spun around to see the Snow Queen standing there.

"What are _you_ doing here!?" Emma exclaimed, immediately on her guard. Even so, there was a part of her that wondered how the woman managed to walk in without her noticing.

"I was worried about you," the woman stated, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

"Why should _you_ care about me?" Emma demanded, backing up slightly upon noticing the Snow Queen was taking a few steps forward. "You went after my son and his friends."

"I do regret my actions, but it was necessary."

"Right, because you wanted to frame Elsa. I know; the children told me your plan. What I don't understand is _why_."

"I would think you of all people would understand. People like us will always be seen as monsters. When you have magic, nobody will ever accept you. It will only be a matter of time before they turn on you. It happened to me, and Elsa. And in time, even you will be cast aside. Your friends and family will eventually come to see you as a monster."

"You don't know them, or me," Emma retorted, a definite fire in her eyes.

"I don't have to know you, Emma. I've _been_ you. Different, misunderstood, alone. People like us; you, me, and Elsa? We will always be cast out, even from those who claim to love us. Because in time, they will always grow to fear us."

"You're wrong," Emma snarled.

"Am I?" the Snow Queen persisted, a smugly confident smile on her face. "Look at what happened to you today. Surely you know that those people you call family and friends are looking at you differently, now that they've seen what your magic can do. You must have seen the fear and mistrust in their eyes."

"They've never had a problem with my magic," Emma argued. "They accept it as a part of me."

"I thought the same thing, too, once. But that changed when my family saw exactly what my magic could do. In an instant, they no longer saw me as someone worthy of their love and acceptance. Instead, they viewed me as a monster."

"Look, I'm sorry that happened to you, but that doesn't mean..."

"That what I'm saying won't apply to you? Because it's not just me. The same thing happened to Elsa."

"What are you talking about?" Emma asked, curious in spite of herself.

"How do you think she got into that urn?" the Snow Queen challenged. "It wasn't an accident that she ended up in there. It was her sister, Anna. _She's_ the one who put Elsa into that urn."

Emma was momentarily too taken aback to speak. This woman's words were a serious accusation. Especially after what she'd already learned about Anna from Elsa and her father. But at the same time, she could tell that the Snow Queen wasn't necessarily lying. So there had to be a missing piece of the puzzle. But before she could try and figure out what that was, the Snow Queen took the chance to continue.

"Believe me, Emma. It's only a matter of time before you'll end up the same way Elsa and I did. You don't think that the others won't turn on you, now that they've seen exactly how dangerous your magic is? If your own son isn't safe, then…"

"SHUT UP!" Emma shouted, the reminder of what happened to Henry forcing her rage to return in force. As she said those words, she slammed her fist down on the nearby desk. The moment her fist made contact with the wood, a magical shockwave erupted from her hand, resulting in the glass partitions around her private office to shatter, along with the nearby windows. As the multitude of glass shards flew through the air, Emma instinctively raised her arms to shield her face. She only looked up when the sounds of shattered glass hitting the floor died down. Upon doing so, she noticed two things at once. First, the Snow Queen was gone, having used the commotion to escape again. Second, her hands were once again glowing with an almost blinding golden color. Try as she might, she couldn't make the glowing stop.

For the longest time, Emma could only stare at her hands in fearful shock. It was only the sound of her ringing phone that snapped her out of it. But when she pulled it out of her pocket, she only had the time to glance at the ID screen and see it was her mother calling before the phone exploded in her hand, unleashing a cloud of smoke and the putrid smell of melted plastic. In response, Emma dropped the destroyed phone, staggering backwards. Briefly, she stared at the charred remains of her phone until the high pitched ringing in her ears began again. Overcome by everything, Emma gave into her instinct and started to run.

* * *

Regina let out a heavy sigh as she made her way through the lobby of the hospital, rubbing her temples in the hopes that doing so would help get rid of the migraine she felt forming. It had truly been a very long night. While Henry had woken up again a few hours after that disastrous argument that had occurred when Neal had barged into the loft apartment, he still admitted to feeling a bit dizzy. As such, he was strictly confined to bed for the time being. However, it seemed like the more pressing concern was Emma, who had seemingly vanished into thin air. When David and Mary Margret had gone looking for her, they had come back with no luck. All they found was the sheriff's office in a state of serious disarray. There had been broken glass everywhere, along with a cellphone that had been charred and melted. At first, they had tried to recruit Ruby to help find her, thinking she could use her Wolf Senses to track her scent. But right before they could put that plan into action, a large rainstorm had arrived. Thanks to the heavy rains and winds, any scent trails that Emma might have left had been disrupted, making it impossible for Ruby to sniff her out. While it was a reassurance to know that Emma had to be somewhere in town, considering the ice wall was still surrounding the town, everyone was still concerned for her wellbeing. When Emma still hadn't returned home after midnight and everyone had to call off their search until morning in order to get some rest, the mounting tensions had escalated to the point when David had even rounded on Neal. While Regina had elected to not stick around to observe that particular fight play out, she had caught a glimpse of Neal earlier, when she passed by his art dealership on the way to the hospital. Right away, she'd noticed that he was sporting a sizable black eye. While a part of her felt unperturbed by the sight of Neal's shiner, she still made a mental note to approach him later and offer to make him a salve to help treat the bruising. Even though she still didn't think much for the man, she knew that Henry wanted him around. So she might as well try to listen to Mary Margret and maintain a certain level of civility with him.

Right now, however, she had a more important matter to deal with. Her day had started with two early morning phone calls. The first had come from a frantic Mary Margret, who was growing even more concerned that Emma still hadn't come home yet and was begging Regina to produce a locator potion to help find her. The second phone call had come less than five minutes later. This one had come from an irritated Nurse Ratched. From the sound of it, everything electrical in the hospital's psychiatric ward, which now doubled as a long-term prison wing, was going haywire. The lights were blinking on and off, the small coffee maker was brewing on its own and even the intercom system was constantly crackling. The thing that had particularly placed Regina on the alert was that the activity seemed strongest around Zelena's cell. The problem was that Zelena was supposed to have lost her powers ever since her defeat a few months ago. Regina had even sealed away the emerald broach in her vault, using blood magic to ensure it was secure. Did this mean that Zelena had somehow managed to regain her magic? If so, how was that possible?

Those thoughts and questions weighed on Regina's mind as she punched in the code into the door lock that led down to the basement floor. The instant she set foot into the stairwell, she saw the problem right away as the overhead lights kept flickering in rapid succession. It was almost as if the light fixtures had been replaced with strobe lights. Gripping the bannister to keep herself from getting disoriented, Regina slowly made her way down the stairs. At Nurse Ratched had stated, things were not much better when she reached the hallway of the psychiatric ward. But it was abundantly clear that the light outside Zelena's cell was glowing the brightest.

Without hesitation, Regina approached Zelena's cell and magically unlocked the door to face her sister, who was lying on her cot with an arm over her eyes.

"What's going on, Zelena?" Regina grilled, cutting right to the chase. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, that's right," Zelena huffed, not even bothering to move her arm to glance at Regina. "Go ahead and blame me for this. I don't _have_ my magic, remember? Even if I did, do you really think I'd purposely do something that would keep me up? Have _you_ ever tried to get back to sleep when the lights are acting up like this?"

"So you're saying you're _not_ causing this?" Regian asked, skepticism in her voice.

"She's not," Emma whispered, suddenly stepping out of the shadows. "I…I think _I_ am."

"Miss Swan!" Regina started, eyes widening at the sight of her. "Where have you been? Everyone has been looking for you all night!"

Emma didn't reply to Regina's question right away. Instead, she looked away self-consciously. After a pause, she glanced down at her hands, which were once again glowing.

"I…I can't stop it," Emma whispered, fear in her voice. "I've tried everything I could think of, but…. nothing is working."

"It's because you're panicking," Regina stated, looking between Emma and the flickering lights. "You need to stay calm and focus."

"I'm _trying!"_ Emma insisted, now shaking in visible fear and stress. "But it won't stop!"

"Emma, listen to me!" Regina instructed. "You're upset, and that's what's causing your magic to go haywire. But the only one who can help you regain control of yourself is you."

"There has to be something you can do!" Emma persisted. "There has to be a potion you can brew. Or a charm. Something to help nullify my magic."

"You can't be serious," Regina muttered, taken aback. "Is this about what Neal said? Why are you listening to that person? What happened to Henry was not your fault. Even _I_ can admit that."

At that moment, one of the fluorescent tubes overhead shattered, causing both woman to jump in shock. Letting out a terrified whimper, Emma pressed her back against the wall, tucking her hands into her armpits.

"Please, Regina," Emma pleaded, looking close to tears. "There has to be something you can do. I…I can't risk hurting Henry again!"

For a moment, Regina was silent, simply studying Emma's face. It was clear that Emma was not emotionally prepared to listen to reason. And if she didn't get her emotions under control, then she really _would_ continue to be a danger to herself and others.

"Well," Regina sighed, shaking her head. "I suppose we could utilize my mother's old wrist cuffs. The ones that that Greg and Tamara tamped with to nullify magic. Would that be acceptable?"

"I'm willing to try anything," Emma stated.

"Okay then," Regina said, shaking her head. "Meet me at my vault in one hour." With that, Regina left the ward, after making sure Zelena's door was closed once again.

Once she was alone again, Emma closed her eyes, trying to focus on slowing her breathing. While she knew the wrist cuffs were only a temporary answer, hopefully they would do until a more long-term solution presented itself. Against her will, Neal's angry retort echoed through her mind, causing Emma to bite her lip in consternation.

"So, it sounds like you're having a spot of trouble with your magic," Zelena commented. Emma jumped slightly, having completely forgotten that the woman was even there. Glancing over, she saw Zelena was looking at her through the eye slot on her door.

"It's none of your business," Emma stated, turning away.

"If you didn't want me overhearing, you shouldn't have had your little meeting outside my cell," Zelena pointed out. "Besides, I might have a way to help you."

"I'm not interested in your help," Emma retorted.

"You didn't even hear what I had to say," Zelena countered. "You said you were worried about your magic. You said you're afraid it will end up hurting your child again. It so happens I might have a way to help."

"How could _you_ help me?" Emma asked, curious in spite of herself.

"Well, have you ever heard of something called the Crimson Heart?" Zelena probed, smiling widely.

* * *

Killian stood silently along the Storybrooke beach, staring out at the horizon. In the past, being near the sea managed to calm him. But it wasn't working now, his mind plagued by concern for Emma. He had barely slept that night, knowing that she was out there somewhere, probably blaming herself for what happened yesterday. The fact that her yellow driving machine was still parked in its usual spot outside the police station suggested that she had spent the night outside. And that only added to his mental torment. It had been particularly cold and wet that night, so he prayed to every god he knew that she managed to find a way to stay warm and dry.

For not the first time, his mind went back to that terrible moment when he'd seen her lying unresponsive in that bloody ice cave. He would not soon forget how cold she had been that night, or the terrifyingly blue tint of her skin. What if she hadn't fully recovered from that ordeal? What if they found her in a similar state and this time weren't able to help her? He couldn't lose her. Not like he lost Liam. And Milah. And…. Out of nowhere, a distant memory surfaced. A beautiful but emaciated woman lying in a bed, a faded and worn quilt draped over her body. Her eyes were open but lifeless, staring up at him but without seeing him.

Letting out a strangled gasp, Killian shoved that mental image aside, unwilling to revisit that particular memory. However, it did spurn him into action, as he started to stride off, heading away from the coastline to resume the search for Emma. Before he managed to take five steps, however, he noticed a figure with blonde hair out of the corner of his eye. Instantly, he snapped his head around to get a better look, a wave of hope washing over him. When he saw it wasn't Emma, his shoulders slumped in disappointment, but that was quickly replaced with concern when he recognized the woman as Elsa. He was under the impression that David and Mary Margret had taken it upon themselves to act as her personal hosts while they worked on figuring out how to help her regain her missing memories and reunite with her lost sister. So why was Elsa roaming around by herself?

Before he realized he even made the decision, Killian found himself heading over to her side.

"I confess I'm surprised to see you roaming about without your coterie," he commented, cutting right to the chase. "Does Dave and Mary Margret know you're taking a constitutional?"

"I couldn't just sit around any longer," Elsa stated. "Not while knowing Emma is out there somewhere, punishing herself for what happened yesterday. And the longer she isolates herself, the worse it'll get. Her magic will just keep spiraling."

"You say that as if you know what she's going through," Killian commented.

"I've been where Emma is now. I once tried to isolate myself from others because of my magic, believing that it would only be a danger to everyone around me. I even pushed away my sister in an effort to keep her from getting hurt. But that was until I finally realized you can't run away from the people who love you. Because, in the end, they're the only ones who can help you."

"Well then," Killian said with a nod. "Let's not waste any more time then."

With that, the two set off together to try to find Emma. After they had walked for a while, Elsa turned to look at Killian.

"I forgot to tell you," she began. "I appreciated what you said yesterday. About Emma and her magic."

"What exactly did I say?" Killian asked, feeling bemused by Elsa's words. He hadn't realized he said anything of merit.

"You stood up for her, and her magic. Henry told me about your story. It seems that you'd have a legitimate reason to hate magic, considering how much you lost because of it. But Emma has magic, and you clearly aren't bothered by that. You even support her powers."

"Aye, it's true I have no love of magic," Killian allowed. "But if there's anyone who can be trusted with it, then it would be Emma. She's strong and capable enough to not let it take her over."

"It's good that Emma has people like you in her life. She needs people who truly accept and love her and her magic. Especially now."

"To be honest, I think she'd benefit more from having you as a friend," Killian replied, ducking his head in an attempt to deflect the praise. "You said yourself that you've been through what Emma is experiencing."

"That's true. But I only got through it because I had Anna, and because she refused to give up on me. It was her love that made it possible for me to fully control my magic. That's what Emma really needs right now."

Killian was opening his mouth to respond when a distinct melody started to emit from the pocket of Killian's duster. Frowning slightly in confusion, Killian slipped his hand into the pocket and unearthed the phone Emma had gifted him shortly after they'd defeated Zelena.

"What is that?" Elsa asked, staring at the phone mystification.

"It's a… device for….talking," Killian replied, trying to recall how Emma had worded it. "I don't bloody know. I press the Emma Button, and I can talk to her over long distances. It doesn't often get messages from other people."

Glancing back at the screen, his brow furrowed at the caller identity screen. When Emma had shown him how to use these phones, there had always been a person's name on display. This time, there was simply a seven-digit number in place of a name. However, he still pressed the green circle that Emma had said enabled him to talk.

"Who is this?" Killian asked, speaking into the phone.

"Captain!" a familiar voice replied. "Oh, good. I was hoping I got the right number."

"Starkey?" Killian blinked, surprised at the sound of his former crewman's voice.

"Yes, it's Starkey," Starkey confirmed. "I'm so glad I managed to reach you. I had to call Belle in the hopes that she had your number. Beverly is a regular patron of hers at the library."

"What is it?" Killian asked, detecting a tone of urgency in Starkey's voice.

"Well, it's about your lady, the sheriff,"

"You saw Emma?" Killian exclaimed, instantly on the alert. "Where?"

"Well, you know Beverly lives in a small house near the woods," Starkey explained. "This morning, I was standing by the window of her kitchen, just drinking some coffee. I noticed Sheriff Swan through the window. I don't think she knew I was watching, but she was heading into the woods. She looked troubled, but…."

"Thank you, Starkey," Killian announced, cutting him off in mid-sentence. "Thank you for telling me. You have no idea how grateful I am." Without further preamble, Killian ended the call and, after exchanging a glance with Elsa, they both hurried off towards Starkey and Beverly's place.

* * *

Emma made her way through the woods, trying to put as much distance between her and the town as possible. Even now, she wasn't sure that listening to Zelena was the best idea, but she could tell that she was being sincere about the nature of this Crimson Heart. Occasionally, she glanced down at the small bean she'd managed to smuggle out from under Anton's nose, feeling guilty over taking advantage of her friend like that. When this was over, she fully intended to make it up to him.

Before long, she managed to reach a break in the trees, stepping out into a large, empty clearing. Cautiously, she looked around to make sure the coast was clear. When she was sure there was nobody around, she closed her eyes, trying to focus her thoughts on Oz, hoping that the mental picture she'd gotten through second-hand accounts were good enough to ensure her destination. But as she started to lift up her hand to toss the bean so it would activate a portal, the sound of a twig snapping behind her broke her concentration. Instantly on the alert, she spun around, just in time to see a solitary figure emerge from the woodlands. Right away, she noted that he looked familiar. But it took her a moment or two to place him.

"I know you," she muttered, staring at the old man. "You're that old man who helped us during that terrible snowstorm around Christmas. The night Roland went missing."

"I'm glad to see that you made a full recovery from that night," the old man replied with a kind smile. "I was concerned about that bump. But this is a rather strange place for you to end up. Especially this early in the morning."

"Well, you're out here," Emma pointed out.

"That's true," the old man chuckled. "I sometimes come out here to observe the native wildlife. A lot of creatures frequent this meadow. Is that why you're out here, too?"

"No," Emma admitted. "I'm out here because….there's something I have to do."

"From your expression, it seems to be something particularly serious," the old man noted. Emma was about to nod in confirmation, but she started when she noticed the old man walking towards her.

"No, stay back!" she cried in alarm, holding up a hand to stop him. But when her hand was fully extended, she accidentally let out a magical blast, one that missed the old man by inches. Gasping in shock and alarm, Emma grabbed onto the offending hand in an effort to block any further accidental discharges. To her surprise, the old man seemed to be completely unperturbed by what just happened.

"Hmm," he mused, "it appears you're having a spot of trouble controlling your magical impulses."

"Please," Emma pleaded, looking away in shame. "I don't want to hurt you."

"I'm relieved that your intention is to not cause me harm. I assume you have some plan in mind to regain your control. Surely it doesn't involve spending the rest of your life in isolation. You don't seem like the type of person who would be content with that."

"No, you're right. I…I was told of a way to permanently remove my magic. Someone told me about something called the Crimson Heart, which is somewhere in Oz. It can absorb my magic, and once it does, I won't have to worry about hurting anyone again."

"Oh, is that your intention?' the old man questioned. "That sounds like quite the extreme measure. Not exactly one to make rashly, or in the heat of the moment. Because if this Crimson Heart does what you say it will, this won't be a decision you can take back. Clearly, this is a decision you've thought long and hard about. And are absolutely sure you won't eventually regret it."

"If it will mean Henry and the people I care about won't be in danger from my magic again, I can live with it." Emma insisted.

When the old man didn't say anything further, Emma once again turned to activate the magic bean portal to Oz. But to her surprise, when she was preparing to throw the magic bean, she found that her body wouldn't cooperate.

"Why are you hesitating?" the old man asked.

"I…I don't know," Emma admitted, her voice shaking slightly.

"Perhaps you do have doubts, after all?" the old man suggested. After a pause, Emma looked back to face the old man. As she did so, a slight commotion caught both their attentions. Turning in unison, they both were greeted by the sight of Elsa and Killian arriving on the scene.

"Swan," Killian breathed in relief, his expression lightning as if a heavy weight had just been lifted from his shoulders. "We've been looking everywhere for you!"

"Killian? Elsa?" Emma gaped. However, she managed to school her expression an instant later. "I'm sorry, the both of you need to leave. This is…this is something I have to do."

"What are you talking about?" Elsa asked.

"From the sound of it," the old man stated, stepping into the conversation, "she is planning to try and locate an object that will permanently remove her magic."

"What?" Killian exclaimed, looking between Emma and the old man, visibly aghast.

"Emma, no!" Elsa cried. "I won't let you do this!"

"There's no other way," Emma insited. "My powers are out of control. And I can't risk hurting anyone ever again. Plese, just…let me do this."

"No!" Elsa insisted, striding forward. "Emma, you didn't give up on me even when you nearly froze to death in that ice cave, so I'm not giving up on you now. Believe me, I know how scary it is, hurting someone you love. I've lived in fear of that my entire life. But giving up your magic is not the answer. There is another way."

"But I already _did_ hurt someone!" Emma insisted. "I hurt Henry."

"And I know what that's like, too. I actually hurt Anna once. There was a time when I lost control of my powers, just like you. And Anna nearly died because of it. I know exactly what you're going through right now. And that's how I know that there's another way to get through this."

"How?" Emma asked, desperation filling her voice.

"At first," Elsa stated, "I thought that it was just Anna's love that saved me. But I think I'm starting to realize that it's more than that. When I landed in this strange town, I was certain that without Anna, I was doomed. But I got control over my powers again without her. It wasn't until I saw the same thing happen to you that I finally understood. It wasn't just Anna's love that saved me. Because that alone is not enough. You have to love yourself, too. The good and the bad. The only way to ever truly be in control of your powers is to embrace them. Because it's who you are. It's who _we_ are.

"That's what you have to do now, Emma," Elsa continued, holding out a hand to Emma. "Because like Anna with me, you have people who accept you for who you are. But you have to love yourself, too."

"What are you doing?" Emma asked, looking at Elsa's offered hand in worry. "I could kill you!"

"I'll take that risk if you will," Elsa commented with a gentle smile. "It's time to stop being afraid, Emma."

For a long moment, Emma didn't move, simply staring at the proffered hand in tangible fear. But then, ever so slowly, she reached out and took Elsa's hand. To her surprise, the moment she took Elsa's hand, she felt suddenly at peace. All at once, the crackling sensation she'd been feeling beneath her very skin all morning seemed to just melt away completely. Blinking in wonderment, Emma tore her eyes away from their hands to glance up at Elsa, who was now beaming with relief and pride. In the blink of an eye, Elsa had pulled Emma into a hug, which Emma returned after a brief hesitation.

"Thank you," Emma muttered.

"No, Emma," Elsa chuckled stepping back to smile at her friend. "This was all you."

"Swan?" Killian spoke up, hesitantly stepping over to the pair. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I think so," Emma nodded, turning to lean into his side and allowing him to wrap an arm around her shoulders. "I'm sorry if I worried you."

"There's no need to be sorry. I'm just relieved you're safe. Though we should probably head back into town, if you're ready. There are people back there who are worried about you. And Henry will want to see you, too."

"Henry? He's okay?"

"Yes. He's going to be just fine."

Emma let out a strangled laugh of relief. But then she remembered the old man and glanced over her shoulder back at him.

"Thanks for being here," she said, casting him a grateful smile. "You were right. I was being rash."

"Glad I could be of service," the old man chuckled. "Though, that was quite an impressive display of magic. It does make me wonder if perhaps your sporadic bursts of magic were an indication that your powers are becoming more refined. Perhaps this was a sign that your magic is undergoing a type of metamorphous. If that is the case, it might be prudent to consider advancing to a higher level of study. That is, if you do plan on continuing utilizing your magical skills."

"Don't know if Regina would agree to that," Emma commented. "But I'll mention it to her."

After thanking the old man once again, Emma allowed Elsa and Killian to escort her back towards town. As they made their way through the woodland path, Emma instinctively reached out take hold of Killian's hand. But her brow furrowed when her hand failed to come into contact with flesh. Glancing down, she noticed that Killian was wearing a thick leather glove on his left hand.

"Since when do you wear gloves?" Emma asked, eyeing him in confusion.

"Oh," Killian replied with a casual jerk of the head. "I guess….I still haven't gotten used to having that hand back yet. It's more susceptible to the colder weather without the glove."

In response to that statement, Emma simply nodded, seemingly accepting that explanation. However, she couldn't shake the feeling deep in her gut that there was something Killian wasn't telling her. But in light of what had happened the past 24 hours, she decided to not push the matter further. At least, not today.

* * *

 **AN:** This chapter was really hard to get through. It's actually quite difficult to covering canon events while still putting a fresh spin on them. Though I'm crossing my fingers that the remaining chapters will be much easier to write.

Reviews keep me motivated.


	8. Sepsis

It was the sort of afternoon that would normally be spent having a lazy day, but everyone inside the loft apartment was hard at work. By questioning people who had frequented her ice cream shop, it had been determined that the Snow Queen had gone by the name Sarah Fisher during the curse. But it had been particularly disturbing to find that there was absolutely no record of her in any of the census records. To try and shine a light on the matter, the loft had been decorated with boxes filled with old city records, which Emma, Killian, Mary Margret, David, Elsa, Regina and Robin were now combing through. Even though no one had officially stepped forward to take up the mantle of mayor since Regina had been forced to step down following the Dark Curse being broken, the now vacant office still held most of the town's documents. Not to mention being the site of most of the town meetings.

As she scanned through the file she had in her hand, Emma momentary paused to massage her forehead, trying to will away the dull headache from eyestrain. In an almost instinctual response, Mary Margret reached out to rub her back in a comforting manner. The simple gesture caused a tiny smile to appear on Emma's face, and she briefly glanced over at her mother in appreciation.

Ever since Emma had returned to the loft apartment after Elsa and Killian had accompanied her back into town the day before, Mary Margret had been particularly doting, displaying frequent but subtle displays of affection. While at first Emma had found the attention a bit jarring, she was slowly starting to appreciate it. It almost reminded her of a scene she'd seen in a movie once, when a little boy had returned home after he'd been missing all night. In the movie, the boy's mother had immediately hugged him before drawing him a warm bath, clearly relieved to have him home safe. At the time, she had watched that scene with a sense of jealousy and longing, wondering what it was like to have someone care for her that much. But now, it was starting to sink in that she no longer _had_ to wonder.

As Emma returned her focus to the stack of papers in her hand, she spared a look over her shoulder towards the upper level of the loft, where she could hear the muted tones of a conversation going on upstairs. Even though Henry was awake and seemed no worse for the wear after the accident, she and Regina had agreed that he should stay home from school today. Grace, Nick and Ava had shown up a short time ago to see how he was doing, but ended up sticking around to keep him company while the adults worked, and to help him get through the small pile of homework assignments that Mary Margret had picked up for him after the school day ended.

'I'm not just your grandmother," she had said. "I'm your teacher, too. So I have to make sure you don't fall behind in school." That remark had earned her a displeased look from Henry, but he had accepted the assignments without fuss.

For not the first time that day, Emma felt a wave of gratitude for the three children sitting upstairs with Henry. And not just because she was glad to see him finally making friends. Perhaps their company could help keep Henry's mind off the fact that Neal hadn't been by to check up on how Henry was doing. Not that he appeared to be ignoring him, of course. Neal had called shortly after breakfast and had spent no less than fifteen minutes with Henry over the phone. But he had yet to stop by in person. While the excuse he had given Henry was that he was dealing with an unexpectedly busy workday, there was a small, nagging voice in the back of Emma's head that was telling her it was her fault Neal was avoiding stopping by. She wondered if he'd found out that she had nearly given up her magic and was angry at her for not going through with it. If that was the case, as she felt it was, she couldn't deny that she was grateful she didn't have to deal with him right now. Because she didn't regret her decision to keep her magic. And if the responses she'd seen from Regina and her parents upon hearing what had happened had been any indication, they were also grateful she hadn't resorted to such rash actions. Still, she hoped that Neal would eventually get over his own issues over the matter, for Henry's sake if nothing else.

"Emma?" Elsa spoke up, pulling her out of her thoughts. "Why are there pictures of you mixed in with the city records?" Upon looking over, Emma saw that Elsa was holding a small pile of photographs, a confused look on her face. Wordlessly, Emma stepped over to get a better look at the pictures, aware of how everyone was looking over at them in curiosity.

"Oh," Emma sighed upon seeing the pictures were candid shots of her and Henry and recognizing them instantly. "Let's just say when Regina was still mayor, she abused her power a bit. She was looking for any reason to run me out of town."

"I'm right here, you know?" Regina huffed, rolling her eyes.

"Are you saying that _wasn't_ what you did?" David challenged. Regina didn't reply to that, but she averted her eyes, appearing reasonably chastised.

Paying no mind to the brief confrontation, Emma started to flip through the old photographs, smiling slightly in remembrance of the first time she and Henry had gone out for hot cocoa together, when she walked him to school for the first time, and how they used to meet at the now-destroyed castle playground on the beach. But as she continued to look through the pictures, she came across one that made her freeze in place, her breath catching in her throat.

"Emma?" Mary Margret asked, noticing the expression on her face. "What's wrong?"

"It…it's me," Emma whispered. "With…with _her!_ " Numbly, Emma placed the photograph in question onto a nearby table so the others could all look at it. As such, everyone was able to see the picture was of Emma and the Snow Queen standing inside the ice cream shop. Judging from the look of anger on Emma's face within the picture, they appeared to be having some matter of argument.

"You never said you ran into her before," Elsa stated, staring at the picture.

"That's because I have no memory of this," Emma replied. "Regina, you were the one who had Sidney take these pictures. Did he mention what was going on when he took this one?"

"How should I know what you were arguing about?" Regina asked. "I never asked."

"Maybe we should ask this Sidney, then?" Robin suggested. "Since he was the one who took the pictures, he should remember what was going on that day."

"That's a good idea," Mary Margret said, nodding in agreement.

"Come to think of it," Emma mused, furrowing her brow, "has anybody even _seen_ Sidney lately? Because I don't think I've seen him in months. Not since before the curse broke."

Looking around, Emma saw David and Mary Margret were both looking equally stumped, but then she happened to catch a glimpse of Regina's expression. The woman in question had suddenly gone pale.

"Actually," Regina began, making an obvious effort to not look anyone in the eyes. "I know _exactly_ where he is."

* * *

Emma and Killian were crouched down behind a pair of trees, looking down at the ice cream truck that was parked in the middle of the woods.

"Are you certain this is the best idea, Swan?" Killian whispered. "I realize you're desperate for answers, especially since Sidney couldn't provide us with any insight on why you cannot remember your confrontation with the Snow Queen back then."

"I know it's probably risky to do this now," Emma admitted. "But someone had to stay home with Henry. Since Neal is clearly trying to avoid me, David, Mary Margret and Elsa are our best option. Especially with Mary Margret in the third trimester. It's probably best that she not do anything dangerous. And Regina has plenty to focus on with her apology to Sidney. I can't _believe_ she'd actually forgotten he was still locked up in the psychiatric ward! Especially since the curse has been broken for almost an entire year now!"

Killian sighed, unable to come up with a way to defend Regina on this count. Although, he internally acknowledged that it wouldn't be the best time to even attempt to do so. Judging from the expression on Emma's face, it was clear that she was deeply disturbed by how she couldn't remember the confrontation Sidney's picture had depicted. He couldn't say he blamed her. He wasn't sure how he'd react if he found out something had tampered with his memory.

After a pause, he started to reach out to place a comforting hand on her back, but just as he was extending his arm, he felt a prickling numbness shooting up through his arm, starting from his left hand. Gritting his teeth to hold back the grunt of pain, he glanced down at the hand in question, which was encased in the leather glove. Trying to will away the numbness, he started to flex his fingers in experimentation. Once the spasm passed, he turned back to Emma, only to find that she was already looking back at him in concern. Briefly, she wordlessly looked from him to his left hand, the question evident in her expression. But just as she was starting to open her mouth to verbalize it, Robin suddenly appeared at their side.

"My men have finished sweeping the area," he announced. "There's no sign of the Snow Queen anywhere. If you're going to go through with infiltrating her hideout, now would be the time to do so."

"Thank you, Robin," Emma replied, giving him a brief smile of gratitude.

"Gladly," Robin commented with a wink. "You're the first sheriff I don't mind assisting."

"Right. Anyway, remember, if you see her coming back…."

"I'll signal you," Robin finished, gripping his bow in emphasis.

Without further hesitation, Emma and Killian made their way towards the ice cream truck, with Emma readying her pistol and Killian unsheathing his sword. When they reached the doors at the back of the truck, they shared a glance before, in response to a nonverbal signal, Killian yanked open the door and Emma instinctively aimed her gun. However, their caution proved to be unneeded, as the ice cream truck was deserted.

"It appears she beat us to it," Killian commented, looking around. "She's already cleared out the vessel." Letting out a weary sigh, Emma stepped into the truck, looking around for any sign of something that might have been left behind. But it seemed as if Killian's observation was true. The back of the truck was completely empty.

Just as Emma was about to step out again, she happened to glance over at the built-in cooler where the ice cream would have been stored. Her eyes immediately focused on the padlock attached to the cooler lid.

"Hang on," Emma mused, reaching out to weigh the padlock in her hand. "Who locks their freezer? Was she afraid someone was gonna steal the Rocky road?"

"Allow me," Killian offered, stepping over to her side and lifting his cutless. In an instant, Emma realized he was planning to try and break the padlock with his blade. Moving quickly, Emma darted a hand out, catching his arm in mid-swing.

"I appreciate the offer," she said. "But I think I can handle this."

"Right, of course," Killian consented, stepping back as Emma reached into her jacket pocket to pull out a bit of broken wire. Crouching down, Emma made quick work at picking the padlock with the broken wire, allowing her to open the cooler. Upon lifting the lid, Emma saw the cooler was empty, apart from a single folder filled with papers. In curiosity, she picked up the file and began to flip through it, her eyes growing wider every second.

"Emma? What's wrong?" Killian prompted.

"Looks like Dairy Queen's been following me for a long time," Emma replied, glancing up at him. Since I first landed in this world."

"Come again?" Killian blinked. In response, Emma showed Killian a document that was inside the file.

"According to this, she was even my foster parent for six months. That's the longest I was ever in one spot, but I don't remember a second of it."

"Nothing at all?" Killian prompted, scanning the document in consternation.

"No, nothing at all," Emma confirmed, shaking her head. Wrapping her arms around herself in an effort to keep it together, Emma turned and sank to the ground, dangling her legs out of the back of the truck.

"You all right, Swan?" Killian asked gently, taking a seat next to her.

"I'm fine," Emma insisted. "After all, it was all a long time ago."

"Perhaps," Killian allowed. "But wounds that are made when we're young tend to linger."

"Yeah? How would you know?" Emma sighed, staring off into space.

"Believe it or not, I was once a child," Killian pointed out with a casual shrug.

"Yeah, like a million years ago," Emma scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"It was more like 200," Killian chuckled, shaking his head. However, a moment later, his mood shifted, with his expression becoming stone serious. "My father; he abandoned me and my brother when we were children."

Instantly, Emma started at this admission, turning to look at him in shock. However, Killian didn't seem to notice, simply continuing with his tale.

"We were voyaging on a ship, just the three of us. One morning, Liam and I awoke. And our father wasn't in the cabin. We searched the ship, but he was gone. He had stolen a dinghy while we slept."

"He just left you on a boat in the middle of the ocean?" Emma exclaimed, aghast.

"Aye," Killian confirmed, a haunted look in his eye. "It turns out our father was a fugitive. He found out that there were soldiers waiting for him at the next port, so…. he escaped."

"And he didn't take you two with him?!" In response to that question, Killian let out an ironic laugh.

"How do you think he paid for the boat, love?"

Within seconds, Emma's pallor started to turn green with nausea, Killian's words sinking in. Taking advantage of her speechlessness, Killian went on.

"Though I was still on the ship, I remember feeling like I'd been cast overboard. Like I was in the water, trying to stay above the surface, but something was dragging me downwards. It was dreadful. But thankfully, I had Liam to steady me. He was always there for me. I never would have survived without him. But you, Swan; you had no one. I can only imagine how difficult that must have been."

"Killian," Emma whispered, still unable to come up with a single word to say in response to his admission. What's more, she slowly started to realize that that was the first time he'd ever openly shared something about his past.

Before she could properly sort out her thoughts to come up with anything to say, Emma glanced down at the file in her lap once again. What she saw made her eyes narrow once again, and she picked up another stack of papers.

"What's that?" Killian asked, clearly desperate for a change in subject.

"It's a painting I did when I was in school," Emma explained, mystified.

"That so surprising?"

"It's not the only one." Sure enough, the file contained a small stack of watercolor paintings. "This crazy woman has a _whole file_ of my old art projects and essays. Just like the one I have for Henry. You don't keep stuff like this unless you care about someone."

"Well, perhaps the Snow Queen wasn't simply stalking you," Killian suggested. "Perhaps she'd grown fond of you over time."

"Looks like the feeling was mutual," Emma commented, pulling out an old greeting card and opening it up to read it aloud. " _'Thanks for being the family I never had. Love, Emma_.' I wrote that to her."

"Looks like you two were close once."

"But she still erased my memories, or did _something_ to prevent me from remembering any of this. Something must have happened to change all that. There has to be a clue as to why."

"Perhaps there is," Killian said, reaching out to pull a small bit of parchment from the file. If you can read hieroglyphs, that is."

In curiosity, Emma glanced at the parchment in Killian's hand, her trepidation increasing when she realized she didn't recognize the writing printed across it.

"This isn't from our world," Emma mused. "What the hell was she doing with me?"

"Well, I suppose we should take this scroll to Belle," Killian suggested. "If anyone could help us translate this, it would be her."

* * *

Mary Margret lounged back in the rocking chair, closing her eyes with a deep sigh.

"Are you alright?" Elsa asked, looking up from Henry's Storybook, which she'd started reading after Emma, Regina and Killian had left to question Sidney.

"Yes, I'm fine, thank you," Mary Margret replied, opening her eyes. "It's nothing I haven't gone through before." To emphasize her meaning, she ran a hand over her protruding abdomen.

"Would you like some of the nettle leaf tea that Mab gave us?" David asked, stepping over to rub her shoulders.

"Maybe in a bit," Mary Margret stated, leaning her head back in visible appreciation to the light massage.

For a few moments, Elsa simply watched the couple in silence, a tiny smile gracing her features. Wistfully, she started to remember her own parents, wondering if they'd been this attentive to one another when she and Anna were on the way. After a brief hesitation, she carefully extended a hand towards Mary Margret's elevated feet and ankles, creating a thin layer of ice around them.

"Oh!" Mary Margret gasped, glancing down. "Thank you, Elsa! That feels nice!"

Once again, a silence fell within the loft apartment, but it was broken by the sound of someone knocking at the door.

"Who could that me?" Mary Margret asked, glancing over.

"Maybe it's Mr. Tillman," David speculated. "Coming to pick up his children." However, when David stepped over to answer the door, he saw their visitor was not Mr. Tillman, but King Arthur and one of his knights.

"Your majesty," David greeted, stepping aside to allow the two men to enter. "What brings you here?" Arthur didn't reply right away, and Elsa became instantly aware that he was covertly eyeing her, making her feel self-conscious. But she met his gaze firmly, standing firm in the face of the nonverbal challenge.

"I've heard that you had an altercation in the woods," Arthur announced, turning to address David and Mary Margret.

"Well, yes, that's true," Mary Margret confirmed. "But how do you…"

" _I_ told him," the knight stated, stepping forward. "I am Sir Morgan. Violet is my daughter."

"I would like to discuss with you what you plan to do about this Snow Queen," Arthur continued. "If this woman is cruel enough to go after our children, then it's clear she must be stopped."

"Yes, we agree," David said. "And we're working on the problem."

"And _how_ are you working on it?" Arthur challenged. "Seems to me you're simply standing around while a crazy witch is on the loose. Why aren't you sending your soldiers to hunt this woman down? We haven't even seen you make a formal announcement to your people warning them about this new enemy."

"We are still trying to determine who she is," Mary Margret explained. "We know nothing about her, except that she's apparently been living in this town for years without anyone realizing it."

"In other words," Arthur conclude with a disproving scowl, "you plan to do nothing while the people of this town are vulnerable of being _attacked_."

"That's enough!" Elsa demanded, stepping forward until she was standing right in front of Arthur, a tangible air of authority radiating off her. "If you are as legendary of a king as they say you are, you are well aware of the demands your position holds. These people have already offered me sanctuary in their home as they work to determine what became of my sister. And why I can't remember how I ended up in that urn. They are also working to help you and your knights return to your kingdom. And at the same time, they are doing what they can to solve the mystery of who this other woman is, and what she's after. To top it all off, there's also their own personal challenges to face. You've mentioned how the Snow Queen attacked the children in the woods, but you seem to have forgotten their own grandson was involved in that altercation. Not to mention how David and Mary Margret _clearly_ have a child on the way. I have only known these people for a short time, but I can see they are doing everything they can, considering they are dealing with so much at once. So with all due respect, I suggest you remember that you are not Camelot, so you do not have a say in how David and Mary Margret address anything."

For a tense moment, Arthur and Elsa simply stared each other down, as if nonverbally challenging one another. But then, Arthur turned and let himself out, with Sir Morgan following close behind.

"I hope I didn't create another problem for you to deal with," Elsa stated, looking concerned.

"No, Elsa, you did nothing wrong," Mary Margret insisted. "Thank you for coming to our defense. We appreciate it."

"There's no need to thank me," Elsa responded. "I was raised to be a queen, too. So I appreciate the position you are in, knowing that you will be the first person people look to."

"Still," David, sighed, looking over at the door that Arthur and Sir Morgan had just walked out of, "I have a feeling that we haven't heard the last about this."

"If it isn't," Mary Margret declared, still visibly touched by Elsa's glowing commendation, "then we'll deal with it. In the meantime…perhaps I _will_ have some of that nettle leaf tea."

"Right away," David agreed, heading over to the kitchen.

* * *

At the library, Belle looked up from the scroll that Killian and Emma had brought her, after having studied it for a few minutes.

"Well, I don't recognize the language," she admitted. "But there are plenty of books about ancient alphabets. I'm sure I can find something that could help me translate it."

"Thank you, Belle," Emma said, smiling gratefully. "We appreciate it."

Once Belle had headed off to begin her research, Killian stepped up to Emma's side, placing a supportive hand onto the small of her back.

"It's alright, Swan," he soothed. "We'll figure out why you can't remember meeting the Snow Queen before."

"Yeah, maybe," Emma allowed, briefly resting her head against his shoulder.

For a moment, the two stood in silence. But then, Emma glanced up at him.

"In the meantime," she began, "why not tell me what's going on with you?"

"What do you mean?" Killian blinked, taken by surprise.

"Ever since Regina restored your hand, you've been acting a bit strange," Emma pointed out. "It all started when you started wearing that glove over your left hand. And don't try and tell me that it's because your hand was cold. Remember, I can tell when you're lying to me. Besides, I saw the way you were looking at it earlier. What's going on with you?"

"Swan," Killian muttered, no longer able to meet her eyes. "It's…nothing you should worry about. Let's just focus on solving your mystery, and helping Elsa." As if that settled the matter, Killian started to walk off, but Emma quickly stopped him.

"Killian," she said, reaching up to cup his cheek with her hand. "Look, I… I know I'm not the best at relationships, but… I don't think it's supposed to work this way. It can't just be you trying to be supportive of me. One in a while, I'm going to need you to trust me, too. Because I know what it's like, not feeling like you can open up to people. So, if you want me to trust you, I'm going to need you to trust me, too."

As Emma completed her statement, Killian's shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Aye, love. You're right," he relented. "It's just that…I was…I was not willing to admit there _was_ a problem."

"What's wrong?" Emma urged.

Letting out a shaky breath, Killian stepped back from Emma slightly. After a lengthy pause, he hesitantly started to remove the leather glove from his left hand. The moment the glove was off, Emma reflexively staggered backward, covering her mouth in shock and mild disgust. The skin around Killian's left hand was a disturbing shade of yellow. To make it worse, there were large areas where the skin appeared to be rotting away.

"Killian!" Emma explained in horror. "How long has this been….?"

"It started around the time of Henry's accident," Killian admitted. "At first, it was just going numb at random intervals. But then…."

"We have to go see Regina!" Emma declared. "She was the one who attached your hand. So she should know what went wrong, and how to fix this!"

* * *

Much like Emma, Regina reacted to the sight of Killian's hand with visible disgust.

"Well?" Emma demanded. "What's wrong with it?"

"I… I'm sorry, Hook," Regina stammered, unable to look away from the hand, but clearly unwilling to touch it. "I should have considered this possibility."

"You know what's happening, then?" Killian asked.

"I think so. You see, you spent hundreds of years traveling to and from Neverland. Because of the magic surrounding that island, you managed to effectively preserve yourself so you wouldn't physically age. But….your hand was never exposed to any long-term effects of Neverland's magic. So, it's possible the only thing that kept it preserved all these years was that liquid Rumpelstiltskin kept it in. But once we removed it from that jar, there was nothing keeping it…fresh."

"Can you do anything to fix it?" Emma beseeched.

"I'm sorry," Regina repeated, seemingly sincere. "But at this point, there's nothing I can do. It's my fault; I should have anticipated this from the start. But I didn't even consider it. And there's no way I can reverse the effect."

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Emma demanded, casting a pained look at Killian, whose head was bowed in silent acquiesce.

"At this point," Regina stated. "The only thing we _can_ do is remove it again. I know it's not fair," she added, noticing the aghast look on Emma's face. "But if we allow this to continue, the hand might become septic, spreading the infection to the rest of Hook's body, and…."

Emma turned away, not needing Regina to finish her statement. But she still was seething at the unfairness of the situation. Killian did not deserve this. He didn't deserve to finally have his hand back only to learn that keeping it might result in him facing a slow, lingering death. It was as if this was Gold's final insult, with him striking back at his old enemy one last time from beyond the grave.

"I'll leave you two alone," Regina announced. "To discuss what you plan to do."

When Regina stepped out of the room to grant them privacy, Emma took a few deep breaths to stop her blood from boiling before turning to see to Killian, who still hadn't moved.

"Killian, I…."

"I'm sorry," Killian interrupted, shaking his head morosely. "I know…this isn't fair to you."

"What do you mean, isn't fair to _me?_ This isn't fair to _you!_ _You're_ the one getting screwed over!"

"It's okay, Swan. You don't have to pretend it doesn't bother you that I…." Killian's voice trailed off, and he turned around in obvious shame.

"What's wrong?" Emma urged, reaching out to give his arm a comforting squeeze.

"You don't deserve this, Emma," Killian replied. "You deserve someone….whole."

For a moment, Emma could only stare, realization of what was upsetting him dawning on her.

" _That's_ what you think?" Emma whispered. "You think I care about whether or not you have both hands?"

"Why wouldn't you?" Killian asked, bitterness filling in his voice.

"Killian," Emma beseeched. "The _only_ reason I care is because I thought you deserved to have your hand back. And because you don't deserve to lose it again. But I don't _care_ how many hands you have."

"How can you not care?" Killian muttered. "Emma, I wasn't able to even _hold_ you properly before."

"Killian, _look at me!_ " Emma demanded, suddenly sounding angry. Killian hesitated for a moment, but then sadly met her eyes. To his shock, he saw there were tears in her eyes.

Without hesitation, he reached out to wipe them away with his good hand, but before he could reach her cheek, Emma's hand darted out and grabbed hold of his decaying hand, pressing it to her chest and tightening her grip when she felt Killian stiffen in shock.

"If there was _ever_ a moment that I made you think I minded you only had one hand before," Emma stated firmly, "then I'm sorry I gave you that impression. But I need you to believe me when I say this. I don't care if you have a hand, a hook, or even a bare stump. Because that isn't what makes you you. Not having both hands does _not_ make you less of a man. And if you think I'm only saying that to try and make you feel better? Well, you're the one who keeps saying I'm an open book. So tell me- do you think I'm just spouting off lip service?"

For a moment, Killian was silent, simply studying Emma's face. But then his downtrodden expression shifted to a wondrous look.

"You really mean that," he choked out, emotion filling his voice.

"Yes, I do," Emma confirmed with conviction.

Letting out a shaky breath, Killian slumped forward, allowing Emma to embrace him. For the longest time, they simply stood there, breathing each other in. When they finally stepped apart, Killian swallowed hard, as if steeling himself for something.

"Okay," he sighed. "I suppose…I should go fetch Regina."

"Killian," Emma sniffed, wiping away a few residual tears. "I'm so sorry you have to go through this again."

"I know," Killian nodded. "But it can't be helped, can it?" Emma bowed her head in sorrow, shaking her head.

Squaring his shoulders, Killian started to head off to locate Regina. But he only took a few steps when he looked back at Emma.

"Emma?" he began. "Would you…stay with me when…."

"Of course," Emma replied, not needing him to complete his request. Without hesitation, she stepped over to his side, taking hold of his hand.

* * *

Emma stood silently at Killian's side, her arm casually tucked into his elbow. The Jolly Roger's anchor had been lowered when the ship had reached the open ocean. Because the sun was starting to sink below the horizon, a series of lanterns had been arranged on deck, providing them with the light they needed. For a long moment, Emma simply stared out at the reflection of the sunset in the waves, but she turned to look back at Killian when she felt him shaking slightly. Cautiously, she reached out with her free hand, curling her fingers around the cold steel of his hook, which was once again attached to his left arm. At the gesture, Killian let out a soft gasp, his eyes darting down to stare at Emma's hand. After blinking a few times, he glanced up to meet Emma's eyes. What he saw in her gaze must have given him the reassurance he needed, for he started to smile.

Chuckling softly, he returned his attention to the small bundle sitting atop the bulwark. It was his left hand, wrapped up in clean linins.

"Are you ready?" Emma asked gently, noticing where Killian's attention was directed.

"Yes" Killian nodded after a brief hesitation. "I suppose I am."

Emma responded by hugging his arm in support, but she remained silent as Killian lifted his linin-wrapped hand. After a pause, he let it slip out of his grasp, allowing it to drop down into the sea below, where it started to sink below the waves. Even after the hand had sunk out of sight, Emma and Killian continued to stare downward. It wasn't until Emma started to shiver from the cold that Killian came to life again.

"We probably should head back into town," he stated. Emma nodded wordlessly, but remained where she was, leaning into him.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Aye, love," Killian replied, lifting up his hooked arm to study the appendage. "It's just…for years, I viewed this hook as a symbol of how much I've lost. But…maybe I'm starting to think differently. Maybe…it's a symbol of something else."

"Like what?" Emma prompted gently.

"Of how much I've survived. And how much I can overcome."

In response to that statement, Emma once again took the hook into her hand.

"I think, that's a good way to look at it," she said. After a beat, a sly smile appeared on your face. "Also, I think it's worth mentioning. There is something weirdly sexy about that hook."

"Oh, is that right?" Killian smirked, casting her a flirtatious grin.

"Very," Emma replied, beaming up at him.

* * *

 **AN** :For those of you who might have wanted Killian to keep his hand, I'm sorry. But as Emma said, I don't see how him only having one hand makes him less of a man. Besides, it's very rare for there to be good representation of disabled people in the media. And Killian is one of the best ones I've seen.

Also, a very happy birthday to Jennifer Morison!


	9. The Scroll

**AN:** A rather short chapter ahead, but I felt that it was best to end this chapter where it did.

* * *

Belle let out a sigh as she closed yet another book, adding it to the ever-growing pile of rejected books. She had spent all afternoon combing through the library's collection of books focusing on other languages and had yet to find one that matched the runes written on the scroll Emma and Killian had found in the Snow Queen's ice cream truck. She was just reaching for the next book when she heard the familiar sound of her phone chirping. Curiosity getting the better of her, she paused to glance down at the screen. To her surprise, it was a new text message from her father, asking her if she would be interested in having a family dinner that weekend. The text even said Jefferson and Grace were more than welcome to join them.

As she reread the text message, Belle was unable to fight the smile that formed on her face. While there was nothing overt within her father's words, she realized what this was. This was her father's attempt at accepting Jefferson and Grace as part of her life. That knowledge brought a slight flush to her cheeks, even though she realized that this would inevitably have happened sooner or later. While she hadn't officially moved in, there was no sense in denying that she'd been spending the majority of her nights over at Jefferson's place, ever since they'd returned from their expedition in the Enchanted Forest.

Before she could start typing out a response to her father's text, she heard the sound of the front door opening. Looking up, she was surprised to see Elsa standing there.

"Elsa, hello!" Belle greeted, getting to her feet. "Please excuse the mess. I didn't know you were coming."

"Well, Mary Margret and David are down the street with Mab for a checkup on the baby," Elsa explained. "Since Emma is busy with things at the sheriff station today, I thought I'd come in and see if I could be of any help here."

"I appreciate the offer," Belle replied. "I've actually been trying to figure out how to translate this scroll Emma and Killian found in the Snow Queen's possession. But I've been having trouble identifying the language."

"Could I see it? Elsa asked. In response to the question, Belle immediately handed the scroll over. The moment Elsa glanced down at the writing, her brow furrowed slightly.

"Elsa? Is something wrong?"

"I know this!" Elsa exclaimed. "The writing is runic. It's an ancient language from Arendelle."

"You're saying the Snow Queen had a scroll from Arendelle? But that would mean that she's also from Arendelle, too."

"Except I'm _never_ heard of anyone else in Arendelle who had powers like mine. Though I suppose it's possible that, if there were, my parents hid any records of them away around the time when they decided to try and keep my powers a secret from the kingdom. Belle, do you know if there are any books in your collection that contain information on Arendelle?"

Upon hearing that question, Belle quickly turned away in attempt to prevent Elsa from noticing the look on her face. In an effort to keep her abrupt reaction from arousing any suspicion, she let out a contemplative sound, in order to act as if she was simply trying to remember.

"No," she finally responded. "I'm…I'm sorry, Elsa. I'm really not that familiar with Arendelle."

Accepting Belle's statement, Elsa returned her attention to the scroll to read it. After a few seconds, her eyes grew wide.

"What is it?" Belle asked, noticing the expression on her face.

"We have to go talk to Emma," Elsa announced, urgency filling her tone.

"Why? What's the matter?"

"This scroll is a prophecy. About Emma."

"What? What does it say?" Belle exclaimed, looking down at the runic writing despite the fact that she couldn't understand it.

"It says ' _the name of the savior is Emma. And the savior shall become Ingrid's sister.'_ "

"Ingrid," Belle repeated. "You think that's what the Snow Queen's name is?"

"It looks like that might be the case," Elsa agreed. "If so, that might explain why she's here in Storybrooke. And why she's been following Emma for so long. I have to go and show her this scroll."

"Of course," Belle agreed readily. "I'll join you in a bit. I just…have to clean up here first."

"Would you like some help with that? Elsa asked, glancing at the large pile of books that needed to be put away.

"Thank you for the offer, but it won't be necessary," Belle insisted, fixing a reassuring smile on her face. "I can handle it, since I know exactly where everything goes. Besides, Emma needs to know about this."

However, after Elsa had left the library to find Emma, Belle's smile faded completely, being replaced by an expression of intense worry. For a long moment, she stood unmoving, biting her lower lip and all but wringing her hands. If anyone had walked in and saw her face right then, they would have known in an instant that she was deliberating something. Finally, she seemed to make up her mind. Leaving the large pile of books untouched, she quickly gathered up her coat and purse and left the library, locking the door behind her. With only the barest hint of hesitation, she made her way down the street, heading away from town.

* * *

Jefferson was perched on the edge of the off-white couch in his mansion's living room, his eyes focused on the flat square box nestled in his hand. While he had ordered the item in his hand from Mr. Griffith about a week ago, he hadn't expected it to arrive so quickly. After the incident when Elsa had broken in to reclaim Anna's necklace, he wouldn't have been surprised if his order had been delayed while Mr. Griffith dealt with replacing his storefront window. But here it was, arriving even ahead of schedule.

For not the first time, Jefferson opened the box to examine the contents, feeling a tiny smile start to form in the corners of his mouth. The item he'd ordered had turned out even better than he'd originally hoped it would. He'd have to remember to thank Mr. Griffith once again the next time he saw the man. But for now, the question was, where exactly would stash it to ensure Belle wouldn't see it?

At that moment, the sound of the front door closing rang out, making him jump in surprise. Scrambling to his feet, he made a beeline for the desk in front of the window, yanking over a drawer and depositing the box inside, slamming it shut in a rush. In his hurry, he accidently slammed his thumb in the drawer, eliciting a short cry of pain. In an instinctual movement, he started to suck on his sore thumb, turning to face the doorway just in time to see Belle hurrying past, making her way to the stairs. Right away, Jefferson's brow creased in concern. Even though she passed by too quickly for him to really see her expression, he still was able to make out a long rope coiled over her shoulder and a dwarf pickaxe in her hand. In curiosity, he started to follow after her, stepping out into the hallway just in time to see her slip out of sight on the upstairs landing. After a brief search of the upstairs room, he finally managed to locate her in the guest bedroom that had been unofficially converted into a storage space for some of Belle's wardrobe and accessories. He stepped into the room just in time to see Belle in the process of changing out of her blouse and skirt. A pair of leggings, hiking boots and the rope and pickaxe were resting atop the nearby bed.

"Belle?" Jefferson began, looking between her and the articles of clothing. "Are you going somewhere?"

"Jefferson!" Belle exclaimed, starting in surprise. "I…I didn't know you were home!"

"Well, you did run by rather quickly," Jefferson pointed out. "Though that does make me wonder what your hurry is. I thought you were at work. And why does it look like you're getting ready to climb Mount Everest?" To emphasize his question, Jefferson gestured to the items on the bed. In a self-conscious manner, Belle looked away, as if she wasn't able to meet his eyes.

"There's…there's something I have to do," she stated. "And the sooner the better."

"Okay, that's fair," Jefferson commented with a nod. "But why do you need a rope and a dwarf pickaxe? Did Leroy loan you this?"

"I can't explain," Belle insisted, now in the process of lacing up the hiking boots. "But I have to head out into the North Woods."

"Isn't that where the Snow Queen was last spotted?" Jefferson questioned, starting to frown.

"It's probably where she's hiding out," Belle announced in agreement.

"Wait a minute!" Jefferson cried, reaching out to grasp Belle's shoulder in order to keep her from walking out of the room. Eyes wide in alarm, he crouched down slightly so his eyes were level with hers. "Belle, you're not _actually_ planning to go out and _confront_ her, are you?"

"Please, Jefferson, I have to do this," Belle insisted. "I have to fix a mistake I made years ago."

"And putting yourself into danger is the way to do that? Did you forget what that woman almost did to Grace and the other children? The Snow Queen has magic, Belle. You don't. What do you think will happen if you go off on your own to face her?"

"Please, Jefferson," Belle pleaded, staring down at her feet, now clearly unable to look up at him. "I _have_ to do this."

"No, you don't! What makes you think you _have_ to put your life in danger?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you. You wouldn't understand."

"Well, why don't you try me?" Jefferson beseeched, completely aghast.

Belle bit her lip in tangible agitation, but she shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut. For a brief moment, Jefferson found himself starting to hyperventilate in his panic, but he managed to reign himself in, remembering to utilize the breathing exercises Archie had suggested.

"Belle?" Jefferson whispered when he felt himself calm down. As he spoke, he reached out to gently brush an errant strand of hair away from her face before cupping her cheek with his palm. "Please, Belle. If anything ever happened to you…. What could be so bad that you feel you have to deliberately put yourself in danger? Or not even tell me why?"

After a beat, Belle finally lifted her head, meeting Jefferson's gaze, allowing him to see the tears building up in the corner of her eyes.

"Jefferson," Belle sniffed, making an obvious effort at holding back the tears. "Do…do you remember what I told you back in the Enchanted Forest? About how my mother died shielding me from the ogres?"

"Of course I remember," Jefferson replied in a soothing voice.

"Well, I didn't tell you the full story," Belle admitted. "The truth is, I… I blacked out when the ogre found my mother and me. So I couldn't remember what had happened. All I remember is waking up in my old bedroom. I didn't even realize my mother had died until I saw her coffin."

"Belle," Jefferson sighed heavily, affixing a sorrowful gaze upon her. "I…"

"Jefferson, please, let me finish before you say anything," Belle requested, wrapping her arms around herself in an attempt to keep herself from falling apart. Without hesitation, Jefferson gave a quick nod, complying with the request. Casting him a quick smile of gratitude, Belle went on.

"After that ordeal," Belle continued, "I was determined to figure out exactly what had happened. Because no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't remember anything that had happened after the ogre had discovered us in the library. And my father refused to help me fill in the blanks. So it was all up to me to figure it out. I started looking for a way to recover my memoires. During my research, I learned of a clan of Rock Trolls who lived in Arendelle. I ended up traveling there without my father's knowledge. And…that's where I met Elsa's sister, Anna. Yes, I met Anna. In fact, she was the one who helped me find the Rock Trolls, who gave me a way to remember what happened to my mother."

At that point, Belle's explanation trailed off. Jefferson said nothing for a few moments, as if waiting of her to continue, but after a time, he decided that she needed a gentle prompt.

"So….you _did_ know Anna?" he asked. "Why didn't you say so before, then?

"Because I was ashamed," Belle admitted. "I was ashamed because of how the story ends. See, Anna had her own reasons for visiting the Rock Trolls that day. During her conversation with them, she learned something about her aunt. Something she realized Elsa had to be warned about immediately. When we were trying to make our way back along a mountain path, however, we were attacked by the aunt in question. Anna and Elsa's aunt created this terrible storm with her magic. The storm; it…. it made us both lose our footing."

Briefly, Belle once again stopped talking, and Jefferson immediately noticed she was shaking slightly. Realizing that they were getting to the worst part of the story, Jefferson made to give her hand a supportive squeeze, but lowered his arm when he saw Belle shake her head, squaring her shoulders in the process.

"When I fell," she admitted, "I dropped the small stone that the Rock Trolls gave me. The stone I needed to create a special tea that could restore my memories. At the same time, Anna slipped off the path, only just managing to catch herself. But she wasn't able to pull herself back up. In that moment, I had a choice. I could either save Anna or save the Rock Troll's stone."

"And… you chose to save the stone," Jefferson guessed, filling in the blanks. Letting out a shaky breath, Belle nodded in confirmation.

"That's why I couldn't tell Elsa what I knew," she admitted. All my life, I wanted to be a hero like the people in my books. But when I had the chance to do the heroic thing, I acted like a selfish coward. I had the chance to save Anna, but I didn't take it. Because of that, Anna fell off the cliff, and was taken prisoner by her aunt. It's _my_ fault Anna's missing, Jefferson."

With that, Belle broke down and started to weep, dropping down onto the bed, burring her face in her hands. But she looked up again when she felt Jefferson curling his fingers around her wrists and carefully pulling them away from her face. To her amazement, she noticed Jefferson looked close to tears himself.

"Belle," he muttered, speaking softly. "It's okay."

"How can it be okay?" Belle asked, wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand. "What I did…"

"You made a mistake," Jefferson stated. "One that you clearly regret now. You're not the only person who has done something they regret. Do you remember when you and I first met?"

"Yes," Belle sniffled. "I've never forgotten. You helped me escape from the psychiatric ward, right before the curse broke."

"Except….my reasons for doing so were less than honorable," Jefferson admitted. "The truth is, I'd known you were down there for quite a while before I freed you. But I did nothing about it. Because all I cared about at the time was getting my daughter back. And when I _did_ come get you out of there, it was only because…. I was using you. I wanted to get back at Regina for going back on her word to give me a way to get Grace back. But since I couldn't kill her myself, I used you to get Mr. Gold to kill her for me. The only reason why I freed you when I did was because I knew the knowledge that you'd been locked up for all those years would have given Rumpelstiltskin the incentive to go after Regina. But…there aren't words to describe how much I regret that now. Now that I've actually spent time with you, and gotten to know you? I wish there was a way for me to go back and free you _much_ sooner. And for the _right_ reasons. The fact that I didn't do anything about your imprisonment until it suited me is one of the biggest regrets of my life. So believe me when I say you're not the only person in this town who have done things they regret and wish they could have a chance to change what they did."

Belle found that she couldn't speak upon hearing Jefferson's confession. While she knew that she probably should be angry at his admission, she could only feel empathy with him, understanding how difficult it must have been for him to admit it. And she could tell from his expression that he was sincere when talking about how he regretted how he went about things. After a long pause, she leaned forward, nestling herself against him and allowing him to cradle her in his arms.

"Jefferson," she muttered, finally breaking the silence. "I want to make this right."

"I know you do," Jefferson said, resting his chin atop her head. "But you won't be able to help Anna by risking your life. I think you know what you have to do to _really_ make up for your mistake."

"I do," she admitted. "Will…will you stay with me?"

"Always."

* * *

A short time later, Belle was sitting inside the sheriff's office, relaying her story to Elsa, with Jefferson occasionally squeezing her hand in support and Emma, Killian, Mary Margret and David standing nearby.

"I'm so sorry I didn't tell you this before," Belle concluded. "I…I was just too ashamed of the choice I made that day, and…." Unable to complete her statement, Belle simply shook her head before glancing contritely up at Elsa, who appeared taken aback.

"You're saying….the Snow Queen is Elsa and Anna's aunt?" David questioned, breaking the silence.

"We found this heraldry book in the library before coming here," Jefferson announced, picking up the book that had been resting on his lap and placing it down on the desk in front of him, opening it up to the spot that had been marked by a post-it note. "You'll see it confirms everything." In unison, everyone gathered around the book to see the illustration that traced the Arendelle linage.

"That's Gerda," Elsa announced after a moment, stroking her fingers over the image of a young red-haired woman. "She was my mother. And, according to this, she had _two_ sisters. I never knew she had _any_ sisters."

"Well, spend a little more time in this town, and you'll realize just about everyone's related," Killian quipped. In spite of the situation, not one person was able to fight back a smile at that observation.

"That's definitely our Snow Queen," Mary Margret confirmed, studying the page. "According to this, her name is Ingrid. Which confirms that the scroll we found in her possession pertained to her."

"And this is Helga, my other aunt," Elsa added, pointing to the third portrait.

"Bloody hell," Killian whispered, staring at the image of Helga. "Swan, she looks just like you!"

"You think that's why this Ingrid went out of her way to keep track of Emma?" David asked, looking around the group.

"There's also the scroll I showed you earlier," Elsa pointed out.

"Yeah, I remember," Emma replied. "It also mentioned me by name. But what was that part about me becoming Ingrid's sister? What the hell does that even mean?"

"Well, my mother died, and her other sister's not around anymore," Elsa mused. "I think Ingrid believes in this prophecy. I think she's looking to replace her two sisters."

"With you and Emma, you mean?" Jefferson concluded.

"I think so."

"But how does she plan to do that?" Belle asked.

Deep in the North Woods, Ingrid made her way into her icy fortress, clutching a large bag in her hand. When she reached the center of the room, she deposited the bag onto the floor, crouching down to reach inside. With a slow, careful movement, she managed to unearth a large circular mirror. It was the one that had once resided within Regina's vault.

After taking a moment to study the glass surface, she allowed the mirror to slip from her grasp, the mirror shattering when it hit the floor. When the tinkering of broken glass faded away, she selected the largest glass shard and picked it up, being careful not to slice her hand on the sharp edges. The moment the glass shard was in her hand, an even larger mirror seemed to manifest itself before her. This mirror was covered with jagged cracks, with a large piece of the mirror missing. However, when Ingrid placed the shard from Regina's mirror into her own, the cracked mirror seemed to repair itself almost instantly.

"So close." Ingrid muttered to nobody in particular, seemingly admiring her handiwork. "Soon, I will have what I want. A family that loves me."


	10. The Trolden Glass

"Mom, you don't have to hover," Henry sighed. "I told you, I feel fine."

"I know," Regina allowed. "But you gave us all a scare a few days ago, and since this is your first time out of the apartment since then, we wanted to make sure you really are well enough to go back to school tomorrow. Besides, it's been a while since we've spent any real time together. I've missed you."

"Yeah, I missed you, too," Henry agreed. Although, he suspected Regina's explanation wasn't the full truth. He wondered if she'd been bored and looking for something to do.

Emma, Killian, Robin, Jefferson, Belle and Elsa had headed off into the woods a few hours ago to try and track down the Snow Queen's hideout, and hopefully figure out what she was planning. But they had asked Regina to stay behind, just in case the town needed protection in their absence. Although they had promised to call her if they needed backup. Still, Henry had to admit he was grateful for the chance to get out. After spending the past three days confined to the apartment his mother and grandparents shared, it felt good to get outdoors. As much as he loved his grandparents, Mary Margret's pregnancy was reaching the stage when she would have to take it easy, and making sure she didn't exert herself was taking up most of David's time. And he supposed he did owe it to Regina to spend time with her. They hadn't done that in a while, and Regina had come a long way since her curse had first been broken. Especially since she was now attending sessions with Archie regularly.

"So, what would you like to do?" Regina asked. "We could get a pizza, take a walk along the beach…"

"How about the stables?" Henry requested. Regina instantly paled at the suggestion, but managed to keep the tremor from her voice.

"The stables?" she repeated. "Why there?"

"I don't know," Henry commented with a shrug. "But it's been a while since I visited my horse. You remember, the one Grandpa gave me?

"Of course," Regina said, hoping she was maintaining a calm expression. "We'll head down to the animal feed store first and pick up some hay and oats."

As they made their way through town, heading towards the animal feed store, Regina was doing her best to keep her breathing regulated. She hadn't anticipated Henry asking to go to the stables, and she wasn't sure if she could bring herself to set foot inside them. She had tried to do so the other day, but when they had come into view, her nerve had failed her. She hoped she could overcome her hesitations, for Henry's sake.

Regina was so deep in thought, she didn't notice the figure exiting one of the shops until they nearly collided with each other.

"Oh, I'm sorry," a strangely familiar voice said as Regina and the other person tried to regain their footing. "I didn't see….. _you!_ " Regina, upon noticing the tone of that final word, glanced over to really look at the other person. As such, she found herself face-to-face with a woman she quickly recognized.

"Oh, Kathryn," Regina muttered. "Hello. I haven't seen you in a while."

"Really?" Kathryn responded stiffly. "Well, maybe that's because I didn't _want_ to see you."

Regina blinked in shock, taken aback by the sheer venom in Kathryn's voice, as well as the harsh glare she was directing at her.

"Um…" Regina began, struggling to collect her thoughts. "Henry, why don't you go on ahead? I'll catch up to you." Henry, after a brief hesitation, slowly complied with the request. Once she was sure he was out of earshot, Regina returned her attention to the visibly angry woman standing in front of her.

"I'm sorry, but…I don't understand," Regina admitted. "What exactly are you…?"

"Are you seriously asking me why I'm mad?" Kathryn demanded, her tangible ire growing even stronger. "You know, the fact that you actually have to _ask_ why I'm so mad just makes it worse."

"If this is about the abduction," Regina sighed. "And staging your death, then…"

"That's not what I'm talking about," Kathryn snapped. "But thank you _so much_ for reminding me about _that part,_ too!"

"It's…it's not?" Regina gaped. "Then…I don't…."

"Should I spell it out for you, then?" Kathryn snarled. "Very well, I will. You claimed to be my friend, Regina. When your curse was still in effect, you were supposed to be my _friend_! But the whole time, you were manipulating me into believing I was married to David! Even though you _knew_ that we weren't! The whole time, you _knew_ that David was someone else's husband, while the man I _truly_ loved was practically right under my nose, working as the school's gym teacher! So, thanks to you, I spent months…. _months_ …. kissing and sharing a bed with a man who wasn't _my_ husband!"

"I was…I was trying to…"

"Oh, I already know," Kathryn huffed. "You were only trying to punish _Snow White_. But even _if_ Snow had deserved what you did to her, the rest of us didn't. Tell me, what did _I_ do to deserve what you did to me? You might have tried to make Mary Margret out to be the harlot in that whole situation, but in actuality, that's what you made _me_!"

Regina opened her mouth to speak, but found she couldn't even formulate a single word. Instead, she simply stood there, stunned into silence.

"And then, to top it all off, you then arranged for me to be abducted, as you so graciously reminded me. I spent I can't even remember how long drugged and locked up in a basement somewhere. All because you chose to sacrifice me in your sick plot to frame Mary Margret for my death. _You,_ Regina! Someone who repeatedly claimed to be my _friend!_

"So that's why I didn't care to see you again, Regina," Kathryn concluded as she turned to walk the other way. "Snow and the others might have forgiven you for the things you did to them, but I'm not sure I can. Because I did _nothing_ to you. And you still didn't hesitate to hurt me in your crusade against Snow White. Just like everyone else in this town. You were so focused on your grudge against her, you didn't even _care_ who you hurt along the way. Of course, why should you care about that? You never cared about any of us before, so why start now?"

Without another word, Kathryn stormed off, leaving Regina standing in place, still at a loss for words.

* * *

Deep in the North Woods, six figures were crouched down behind the underbrush, peering out at an icy cave that had been formed into the side of a steep rocky outcrop.

"Well, Swan," Killian commented, placing a hand on her shoulder and rubbing it gently. "It appears as if your idea worked."

"Yeah, I figured, since we established this Ingrid was Elsa's aunt, we could use that to our advantage," Emma stated, shrugging slightly. "I remembered that we were able to use Gold's blood to locate Henry in Neverland, so it was possible that we could also pinpoint Ingrid's location with Elsa's help. Guess it's a good thing Regina already went over the subject of blood magic in her lessons."

"The main thing that concerns me," Elsa said, glancing over her shoulder at the surrounding woods, "is what will happen if Ingrid isn't inside that cave? What if she's not there but comes back while we're still inside and catches us off guard?"

"I wouldn't worry about that," Robin assured, tightening the grip on his bow. "I'll stand guard nearby. After all, I haven't forgotten that this woman went after the children. It could just have easily been Roland that she threatened."

"Thanks for that, Robin," Emma replied. "And if Ingrid _is_ inside, I'm sure you and I can handle her together, Elsa."

"So, shall we start our infiltration?" Killian asked, unsheathing his sword. In response to his question, the others all nodded with conviction.

Without another word, Robin broke off from the group to take up sentinel nearby while Emma, Elsa and Killian started to head into the ice-lined cave. However, Jefferson cautiously gripped Belle's arm, urging her to hold back a bit when she started to follow after them.

"Belle, are you sure you want to join them?" he questioned. "If this Ingrid is inside that cave right now, you could get hurt. You don't have magic like Emma and Elsa, and….don't take this the wrong way, but you don't have much practical fighting expertise."

"Hey," Belle replied, turning towards Jefferson and cupping his cheek with her hand. "I know you just want me to be safe. But going into that cave? It's something I have to do. For all we know, she might be keeping Anna in there. If she is, I owe it to Anna, and to myself, to be there when we rescue her. Please tell me you understand."

"Of course I understand," Jefferson allowed after a brief hesitation. "In fact, I had a feeling that you'd say that." As he spoke, Jefferson discreetly moved the hemline of his coat, revealing a small revolver tucked into his belt.

"Where did you get that?" Bella asked, taken aback.

"Don't tell Emma," Jefferson requested. "But…I actually took this from the sheriff's office a while ago. Back during that whole incident with the flying monkeys. I wanted a way to keep Grace safe if the need arose. I know I should have returned it after Zelena was defeated, but I just never got around to it. Especially since, if I was caught returning it, Emma would have realized I took it. I doubt she would have been okay with that."

"Because you took a gun from the station?"

"There's that. And… there's also the fact that this gun belonged to the previous sheriff. Considering he had been becoming close friends with Emma before his death..."

"She might not appreciate the fact that you took his gun without permission," Belle concluded.

"I know it's a risk bringing it with me now, since Emma might see it and recognize it," Jefferson said. "But at the same time, I knew you would insist on entering Ingrid's lair with the others. And since I knew I wouldn't have been able to talk you into playing it safe by standing guard with Robin, I…I wanted to at least have some way to make sure you stayed safe."

Belle smiled up at Jefferson, touched and appreciative of his understanding and decision to simply do what he could to protect her instead of trying to stop her. To express her gratitude, she went up on her tiptoes to place a chaste kiss on his cheek.

"Come on," she said, taking his hand. "Let's catch up to the others."

Together, they entered the cave, where they were met by Killian, who had apparently doubled back for them.

"I thought we lost you two," he commented. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes, we're fine," Belle replied. "Did you find anything?"

"Well, no sign of Anna, but we did find Ingrid's hideout."

As he spoke, Killian escorted Belle and Jefferson the rest of the way through the cave, leading them to a large chamber that was elaborately decorated with various adornments, from candelabras and vases to a fur-lined white chaise lounge. At first glance, the candelabras and decorative ornaments that resided throughout the chamber looked like they'd been fashioned from the finest crystal, but everyone realized they had most likely been fashioned from ice. Already, Emma and Elsa were looking around the room, searching for any clues that could shed some light on whatever Ingrid might be planning. Without hesitation, Jefferson, Belle and Killian started to follow their example.

"Have to admit, your aunt went all out," Emma stated, picking up a book from one of the tables and flipping through it.

"I know," Elsa agreed. "Though perhaps this does prove she and I _are_ related. I styled a place like this once, too. Back when I thought it was better for me to live apart from everyone else because of my magic."

"You royals and your ostentatious decorative tastes," Killian quipped, carefully examining the numerous trinkets that adorned one of the tables.

"You're one to talk," Emma teased, directing a mischievous glance at him. "I've seen your quarters aboard the Jolly Roger, remember?"

Killian looked up sharply, seemingly about to give a retort to Emma's comment, but Jefferson's voice cut him off before he could say a single word.

"Belle? Are you okay?" Jefferson asked. In unison, everyone looked over, following Jefferson's gaze to where Belle was standing in front of a large circular mirror hanging up on the wall. She was simply staring at the mirror, with an unsettlingly glassy look in her eyes.

In an instant, Jefferson was filled with a horrible sense of déjà vu, remembering he'd seen Belle in a state similar to this before. In his mind's eye, he saw Belle standing within Rumpelstiltskin's private vault, looking blankly down at a music box. Moving quickly, he raced over to her side to try and pull her away from the mirror.

"Belle, please!" Jefferson cried, covering her eyes with his hand in his desperation. "Please, snap out of it!"

"What's the matter, Jefferson?" a voice eerily similar to his own jeered. Eyes widening in shock, Jefferson turned to the direction of the voice, resulting in him looking at his reflection in the mirror. To his amazement, his reflection was looking back at him with a harsh smile.

"You're afraid of losing her again, aren't you?" the Mirror Jefferson taunted. "Of course, you know it's only what you deserve, don't you? You've been so happy lately, haven't you? How could you not be? You have your Grace back in your life. And now you're found a blossoming romance with Belle. But you know you don't deserve that happiness, don't you? Not after what you did to Priscilla. You know she's dead because of _you_. If you hadn't been so selfish, she'd still be alive. And then, you callously abandoned Grace. And for what? The chance to live in the life of luxury again? Why bother denying it, Jefferson? You've _never_ been anything more than a greedy thief. That's all you'll ever be. So what makes you think you deserve the happiness you have now? We both know it's only a matter of time before you lose this life you're building with Belle and Grace. And sooner or later, fate will catch up to you. Either Grace will decide she was happier with her cursed parents than she ever was with you, or Belle will leave you. Or you'll end up killing her, like you did Priscilla."

Jefferson opened his mouth to speak, but found he could not utter a sound, the mocking voice of Mirror Jefferson echoing in his ears. He was dimly aware of the fact that his heart was beating at an almost painful pace within his chest. The worst part was that he couldn't think of a counterargument to what Mirror Jefferson had said. Because he realized that he agreed with him. Everything Mirror Jefferson had said to him was completely true, and something he'd already thought in some of his darkest moments.

In a glaring contrast to the sinking feeling within his chest, Jefferson slowly became aware of somebody lightly slapping at his cheek. It was a sensation that started off faint at first, but grew in intensity with each passing second. At the same time, a voice buzzing in his ear also was coming more into focus, until…..

" _Mate!_ " Killian's voice rang out, so loud and clear that Jefferson couldn't stop himself from jerking with surprise. All at once, he found himself lying on the ground in the middle of the woods surrounding Storybrooke. Killian and Robin were booth hovering over him, their expressions filled with concern.

"Are you okay?" Robin asked when he noticed Jefferson was awake."

"What happened?" Jefferson muttered, trying to sit up, Killian quickly assisting him upon noticing his intention. "Where's Belle?"

Before Killian and Robin could answer his question, Jefferson started to look around, quickly spotting Belle sitting nearby, with Emma and Elsa tending to her. Apart from being very pale, she appeared unharmed and alert.

"What happened to you two?" Emma inquired, speaking gently as she looked between Belle and Jefferson. "The two of you were just staring at that mirror, as if it was hypnotizing you."

"Even when Hook covered the mirror up with that sheet that was lying nearby, neither of you were responding to anything we said," Elsa continued. "Emma had to use her magic to transport us all out here. We were worried that the mirror did something to you that couldn't be reversed."

"You poofed us out here?" Belle blinked, looking over at Emma. "I hadn't realized that Regina taught you that yet."

"She didn't," Emma admitted. "I guess….I just knew what to do without thinking about it. I was just thinking we needed to get you out of there quickly, and the very next moment, we were out here."

In spite of the situation, Jefferson found himself chuckling to himself, shaking his head slightly.

"What?" Emma asked, turning to him. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," Jefferson said with a shrug. "I was just remembering our first meeting. I told you that you had magic, didn't I? But you didn't believe me then, did you?" All at once, Emma remembered the conversation Jefferson was referring to and she let out a scoff of mild embarrassment.

"Well, would you have trusted the word of the person holding you at gunpoint?" she quipped. "Anyway, what exactly happened to you two back there?"

That question effectively sobered Jefferson up, as he remembered everything Mirror Jefferson had said to him in perfect clarity. Feeling nauseous, he looked away. But he looked back up again when Belle started to speak.

"The reflection in the mirror," she said. "It was my reflection, but it was if it had a will of its own. It was talking to me, as if there was another me on the other side."

"What did it say?" Emma prompted gently, instinctively rubbing her back in comfort. Belle instantly grew even paler than before, and she hunched over slightly, as if trying to roll up into a ball.

"It said….horrible things," she announced. "Things about me. Things I….I never admitted to _anyone_ before. It was if…the me in the mirror knew all of my deepest, darkest thoughts and fears." After a pause, Belle finally looked over, meeting Jefferson's intent gaze. "Is that what you saw, too?" she asked.

"Yes," Jefferson whispered. "It was like… everything I feared was true about myself being confirmed and hurled into my face."

"So it's a mirror that makes us see the worst in ourselves?" Robin concluded. "Why would anyone want something like that in their possession?"

"Actually," Elsa began, speaking up. "This does remind me of something."

"What is it?" Emma prompted.

"Back in Arendelle, there was an ancient northern legend. It was called the Trolden Glass. According to the legend, there was a king who dearly loved his daughter. He wanted her to see the beauty he saw in her, so he had a special mirror made for her, with the intention of giving her the mirror on her birthday. But the day before her birthday, the daughter tragically died. As a result, instead of the mirror reflecting the daughter's beauty, it reflected the ugliness of the grieving father's pain and sorrow. The king was so devastated by his loss, he decided his entire kingdom should share in his pain. So he spent years harnessing dark magic, until the day he was able to use it on the enchanted mirror. He cast a spell over his entire kingdom, forcing his subjects to only see the worst in the ones they loved. And they turned on each other, destroying themselves."

"Well, that sounds like a charming tale," Killian quipped.

"Do you think Ingrid somehow found the actual Trolden Glass?" Robin asked.

"Either that or she found a way to create her own version of the mirror," Jefferson theorized. "But for what purpose?"

"You don't think..." Emma began. "Elsa, you said that the king in the legend used the mirror on his kingdom to force everyone to turn on each other. What if Ingrid is planning to do something similar here?"

"What could she gain from that?" Elsa wondered.

"The prophecy!" Belle exclaimed. "The prophecy that mentioned you by name, Emma. Ingrid seems convinced that you and Elsa should become part of her family. What if she's planning to force the two of you into it by getting rid of everyone else in town?"

"Belle might be onto something," Killian pointed out. "Didn't Regina once plot something similar in order to get the lad, Henry, all to herself?"

"But if that's what Ingrid's plan is," Emma said, looking around at everyone, "how does she expect to keep Elsa and me from being killed along with everyone else in town. And more importantly, how are we supposed to stop her?"

Before anyone could get the chance to think about Emma's questions, Elsa let out a soft gasp. When everyone turned towards her, they saw she was clutching her wrist, where a bright yellow ribbon now resided.

"Where did that come from?" Robin asked.

"I don't know," Elsa stated, tugging on the ribbon to no avail. "It just appeared out of nowhere. And I can't get it off!"

"Let me try," Emma offered, reaching out to try and help her friend. But as she reached out, she froze at the sight of an identical yellow ribbon secured around her own wrist. "What the hell?"

Without warning, Emma felt a firm squeezing sensation around the ribbon secured to her wrist, as if the ribbon was wrapping itself tighter. Reflexively, she grabbed her wrist, letting out a shout of surprised pain.

"Emma!" Killian exclaimed, instantly on the alert. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know!" Emma answered. "But it's like…."

Emma's explanation trailed off, and, as if looking for guidance, she looked over to Elsa, who wore an identical expression to her own.

"I feel it, too," Elsa confirmed. "It's like it's funneling all my magic away. Harnessing it somehow."

"What exactly _are_ these ribbons?" Jefferson asked.

"I don't know," Emma said. "But I have a pretty good idea where they came from."

* * *

"I thought we were going to the stables," Henry reminded as he followed Regina down the walk leading to the large house that had once belonged to Mr. Gold.

"I know," Regina sighed, stopping to crouch down to his level. "But…something came up, and….I just think we should take a rain check. Besides, it's high time your so-called father stopped sulking. You realize he hasn't shown his face since your run-in with Ingrid? He hasn't even stopped by to check up on you. And a single phone call just doesn't cut it. If he _is_ serious about sticking around in this town to be a part of your life, he has a strange way of showing it."

As they neared the mansion, however, Regina was gripped by a sense of unease. For some reason, something just didn't feel right. Feeling cautious, she motioned to Henry to hang back and keep his distance. Upon reaching the stairs leading up to the porch, she noticed the indication that her fears were justified as the front doors were slightly ajar. Acting on instinct, Regina conjured up a fireball and, after glancing back to make sure Henry was a safe distance away, she nudged the door open all the way.

The sight that awaited her left her momentarily stunned. Everything in sight was covered with jagged shards of ice. So much so, the interior of the Gold House was almost completely unrecognizable. Some of the icy shards had even pierced the walls and shattered the furniture that had resided in the main foyer. Chunks of plaster and broken wooden fragments were scattered across the floor. Wordlessly, Regina moved further into the house, taking in the full extent of the damage. Still, she was unable to hold back the gasp of shock when she reached the opening that lead to the sitting room. There, in the center of the sitting room, was Neal. He was seemingly unconscious, but being held up by strategically placed ice shards that were acting like a crude version of a stockade.

Suddenly fearful that Henry might end up walking in and see Neal in that state, Regina crossed the room in an instant, quickly checking him for signs of life. To her relief, she found that he was still breathing, albeit shallowly. Being careful not to burn him, Regina held her fireball near the ice that was keeping him trapped. Once the ice had melted enough to extract him from his prison, she carefully lowered him to the ground.

"Neal," she said, shaking his shoulder. "Neal, wake up!"

After a tense moment, Neal's eyelids fluttered slightly, and his eyes weakly opened.

"Wha…wha' happened?" Neal muttered, slowly looking around.

"That's what I want to know," Regina pointed out. "Was Ingrid here?"

"Ingrid?" Neal repeated, his brow furrowing in confusion. "Who's….?"

"Right, you haven't been around," Regina huffed impatiently. "The Snow Queen. She was here, wasn't she?"

"She… she was…" Neal slurred, clearly losing consciousness again. "Came….looking for somethin' from Papa's old shop. Said somethin' about…ribbons."

"Ribbons?" Regina echoed, her tone filled with disbelief and confusion. "What could she _possibly_ need with some old ribbons?"


	11. The Plan

"And that's when he passed out again," Regina concluded, having just conveyed the story of how she found Neal to Emma, Killian, Elsa, Mary Margret, David and Robin. The group was standing outside the hospital room where the unconscious Neal was lying, with Henry sitting on the chair positioned near the bed.

"So, that means that these ribbons came from this Rumpelstiltskin," Elsa concluded, looking down at the yellow ribbon that was still affixed to her wrist.

"It always comes back to him, doesn't it?" Emma muttered, looking down at her own ribbon. "He sure is causing a lot of issues for a dead man. Are there any _other_ problems he caused that we're going to have to deal with the fallout for?"

"That Crocodile was around for centuries, love," Killian reminded. "He must have gathered a fair number of enemies. But if more crawl out of the woodwork after this, we'll deal with them as they come."

"Hook's right," David agreed. "Right now, let's just focus on Ingrid and finding out a way to stop her."

"Right," Emma sighed, getting her mind back to the matter at hand. "We need to figure out how to stop her from directing that Trolden Glass at the entire town."

"Well, it's obvious, isn't it?" Regina pointed out. "We need to lure Ingrid into a trap that would allow us to capture her. She can't cast her curse if we keep her locked up."

"But how can we do that?" Emma challenged. "Unless you happen to have a batch of squid ink on hand…."

"Actually, I think I do have a spell that might help," Regina offered. "If it works, it could effectively restrain her long enough for you to get her into custody. I can show you what to do if you come to my vault."

"Wait, you don't expect _me_ to do it, do you?" Emma asked. "In case you forgot, these ribbons that Elsa and I got are somehow keeping us from using our magic."

"She's right," Mary Margret said. "If this spell of yours can do what you say it could, Regina, then you have to do it."

"And once we have Ingrid," David continued. "We can properly ask her what the story behind these ribbons is. And how we can remove them."

"Of course," Regina said. "But you should still come along, Emma. You should at least watch, so you'll know how to utilize this spell yourself once we get that ribbon off."

"Okay," Emma nodded in agreement.

"I'm going with you," Elsa announced, stepping forward. "If we end up running into my aunt along the way, I have a few things I need to ask her. Such as if she ever used that Trolden Glass on someone else."

"You think she might have?" Emma asked, noticing that Elsa's tone suggested she might.

"I've been thinking about what you told me a while ago," Elsa admitted. "You told me that Ingrid claimed that my sister was who put me in that urn. All this time, I refused to believe that Anna would ever do that to me. But now that I know that Aunt Ingrid somehow found the Trolden Glass, I'm wondering if that's what happened. Did she use the Trolden Glass on Anna? If she did, then it would mean Anna was under a spell at the time. I'd like the chance to ask Aunt Ingrid straight out if that's what happened."

"That's a good idea," Killian commented. "And if Ingrid tries to deny it, Emma would be able to tell if she is telling the truth or not."

"Good luck," Mary Margret offered, stepping forward to hug Emma, a gesture she accepted. But before she began to follow Regina, she paused to cautiously look into Neal's hospital room, where Henry was showing no sign of moving from his seat anytime soon.

"It's alright, Swan," Killian announced, realizing what Emma was thinking instantly. "I promise you, your parents and I will keep the lad safe."

"Thank you," Emma replied, expressing her gratitude by placing a kiss on his cheek.

A short time later, the group had all broken off to see to their appointed tasks. While Emma and Elsa followed Regina back to her vault. Mary Margret, David and Killian remained in the hospital to look after Henry, and to see if Neal could give them more information should he wake up. Robin, on the other hand, had elected to report back to the Merry Men, who had been continuously working alongside the visitors from Camelot to help them, in the off chance that anyone in the camp had spotted Ingrid.

* * *

Jefferson placed his phone onto the fireplace mantle after ending the call he'd just received.

"That was Hook calling," he announced, turning to Belle, who was sitting on the couch with her knees pulled up to her chest. "Neal was a bit banged up, it seems, but it doesn't look like his injuries were too serious. Though they're keeping him overnight for observation, just to be on the safe side. Regina, Emma and Elsa are now working on a plan to capture Ingrid before she can enact her curse with the Trolden Glass."

"Do you think they'll stop her?" Belle asked softly, looking up at him.

"With the best of luck, they can" Jefferson responded, crossing the room to join her on the couch.

For a long moment, the pair sat in silence, the only sound coming from the crackle of the fire burning in the fireplace, with the occasional snapping of a log. It was only when Jefferson heard Belle let out a soft sniffle that he noticed she was crying.

"Hey," he whispered, carefully reaching out to cup her cheek, wiping away a tear with his thumb. "What's wrong?"

"I…I just can't…." Belle choked out, trying to hold back her tears. "I can't stop thinking about that awful mirror. If the others can't stop Ingrid, she's going to unleash the mirror's powers onto the whole town. What'll happen then? The things the me in the mirror said were bad enough. But what would the mirror make us all say about each other?"

Jefferson couldn't think of a response at first. He knew exactly where Belle was coming from. What if the curse was cast? He knew that it was very possible that Belle and even Grace might turn on him under the influence of the Trolden Glass' magic. He wouldn't be able to fault them for it, of course, considering they had enough reason to. But what if the curse somehow made him turn on them as well? What if the mirror's influence made him feel like they wronged him somehow? The mere thought that he might hurt them because of this curse…..

"Belle," Jefferson breathed, enveloping her into his arms in the hopes of not just offering her comfort, but receive some reassurance himself. There was no sense in denying that Belle wasn't the only one who was shaken from the earlier experience with the Trolden Glass. If anything happened to Belle, or even Grace? If he lost either of them, he knew it would destroy him.

In the blink of an eye, Belle suddenly shifted their positions, resulting in her straddling his lap. Before Jefferson could recover from the sudden move, she was framing his face with her hands and kissing him firmly.

"Jefferson," Belle gasped out, briefly coming up for air. "Help me forget. I want to forget everything that mirror said to me. Please, Jefferson. Help me forget, if only just for a little while." With that, Belle resumed kissing him. While it took him a moment to adjust to the shock of Belle's unexpected ardor, Jefferson soon allowed his instincts to kick in, and he started to reciprocate Belle's caresses.

Without interrupting the play of their lips, Jefferson tightened his hold on Belle's waist, pulling her closer. When he was sure he would be able to support her weight with his arms, he rose to his feet, lifting Belle into the air in the process.

"You want to forget?" Jefferson asked, growing into her mouth. "I'll help you forget, all right. When I'm through, you won't even remember your own name!"

Belle was unable to fight the sudden shiver at Jefferson's statement, but she eagerly resumed their desperate kiss as Jefferson walked them out of the room and towards the stairs.

* * *

Emma and Elsa made their way through the woods, with Emma lighting their way with a flashlight.

"Do you really think this is the best way to find her?" Elsa asked.

"Well," Emma replied with a slight shrug. "I figure, knowing what we know about Ingrid, she'll probably find us."

Elsa barely had time to nod in agreement when they sensed rather than heard someone walking up behind them. Sure enough, when Emma and Elsa spun around, Ingrid appeared within the light of Emma's flashlight.

"I knew the two of you would come looking for me," Ingrid announced with a smile. "It was only a matter of time."

"You certainly forced our hands with these ribbons you placed on us," Emma pointed out. "What exactly are they, anyway? Why can't we take them off?"

"Why would you want to?" Ingrid asked incredulously as she lifted up her own wrist to show an identical ribbon wrapped around it. "The love that flows through our ribbons is without equal. Its strength protects the life-force that we all now share."

"So, in other words," Elsa concluded, "you've made sure these ribbons will prevent us from hurting you."

"Soon, you won't want to hurt me," Ingrid insisted. "Soon, you will love me for real."

"Right," Emma scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Because directing that Trolden Glass over the town and forcing everyone to turn on each other is _definitely_ the best way to make us love you. Do you really think that Elsa and I would accept you as our sister if you got rid of our families?"

"I know you think that those people are your family, Emma," Ingrid sighed. "But you can't love someone you don't understand. And people like them will never understand us. Sooner or later, they will grow to fear you and your magic. Just look at what happened to Elsa. Look at what her so-called sister did to her."

"Because you put Anna under a spell," Elsa countered. "That's what happened, isn't it? When Anna put me in that urn, you had placed your curse on her. Do you deny it?"

For a moment, Ingrid seemed thrown, but she quickly managed to recover.

"All I did was force her to reveal her deepest, darkest thoughts," Ingrid insisted. "Everything she said was fueled by her own feelings."

"But she would never have acted on them if you hadn't forced her to!" Elsa exclaimed.

"Ingrid, this has gone far enough," Emma cut in, placing a supportive hand onto Elsa's arm. "Look, I remember what you told me before, about how your family turned on you. And that sucks. But that doesn't mean the same thing will happen to us. And forcing our families to turn on us with an evil spell? It doesn't count as proving your point if you use a trick like that."

"Better to get the inevitable over with quickly," Ingrid insisted cavalierly. "There's nothing worse than false hope. Wouldn't you agree, Emma?"

That statement made Emma start, a furious expression forming on her face. But before she could say anything in return, a chord of fire shot out from the shadows, heading right for Ingrid. The fiery chords began to wrap around her wrists.

"What is this?" Ingrid demanded, staring at the fiery chords.

"I think that's enough out of you," Regina announced as she stepped into view, a burning candle in her hands. "Of course, I had a feeling that it would be easy to capture you, if those two kept you talking long enough."

"Emma, Elsa?" Ingrid gasped, turning to them with a hurt expression on her face. "You were just distracting me?"

"I would have cast that spell myself, if you hadn't forced this ribbon on me," Emma insisted. "I'm not about to let you hurt my family and friends."

However, in the next second, the expressions on everyone's faces changed. The fiery chords around Ingrid's wrists had consolidated into a pair of manacles. But instead of remaining where they were, they simply dropped helplessly to the ground.

"What?" Regina gaped, staring in shock as Ingrid stepped away from them, no longer affected by her spell. "It's not possible!"

"Wait a minute," Emma whispered, stepping closer to Ingrid. After a pause, she reached out a hand towards the woman, only for her hand to go right through her, with Ingrid briefly dissolving into snow.

"You're not here!" Emma cried once the form of Ingrid rematerialized.

"Oh, Emma," Ingrid sighed, gazing at her in sadness and disappointment. "I'd really hoped that you and Elsa had finally understood what I was trying to do for you. "But it appears that I'm really going to have to make you understand."

Without another word, Ingrid faded from sight, leaving Emma, Regina and Elsa standing alone in the woods.

* * *

A short time later, the three woman had returned to the hospital wing, where David, Mary Margret and Killian were still waiting. Even Henry had momentarily abandoned his spot by Neal's bedside to hear what happened.

"So, this is it?" Mary Margret asked upon hearing what had happened during the failed attempt at capturing Ingrid. "She's going to cast her curse?"

"It seems like it," Elsa confirmed, visibly sorrowful.

"We can't give up," David insisted. "We'll contact Leroy and the other dwarfs. Have them spread the word and tell everyone to seek refuge down in the mines and Regina's vault until it all blows over."

"This is magic we're talking about," Regina pointed out. "It won't be stopped by walls and ceilings."

"Then what do you suggest?" David challenged. Regina took a moment to reply, her face displaying a sense of reluctance.

"There might only be one option," she said. "And that is to get everyone out of town before Ingrid's curse hits."

"Hold on," Emma inputted, frowning in concern. "What about that spell around the town line? If everyone crosses it, they'll just return to their cursed selves and forget who they are all over again. I somehow doubt we'd have enough time to replicate enough of that potion Gold used to retain his memories when he crossed the town line, will we?"

"Probably not," Regina agreed. "I didn't say it was an optimal solution, but if the alternative is having everyone in town tear each other apart, perhaps...simply losing their memories again is the kinder option."

"No," Henry insisted, shaking his head. "There has to be another way!"

"Henry, I'm sorry," Regina sighed, crouching down to his level. "But I don't think we have time to come up with something else."

Before anyone could come up with an argument to Regina's statement, the sound of someone clearing their throat rang out. Looking over, everyone saw Tinkerbell had appeared on the scene without anyone noticing.

"Tink?" Emma blinked. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see how Bae was doing," Tinkerbell explained. "But I overhead what you were saying. I…I think I might have an idea."

"We're listening," Killian prompted.

"Well," Tinkerbell began, "If I heard correctly, Elsa was speculating that her sister, Anna, had been affected by this Trolden Glass spell before. If she had, we might be able to use that to our advantage."

"How?" Elsa asked.

"I'm sure you've noticed by now that, once someone is affected by a Sleeping Curse, they cannot fall under one again," Tinkerbell pointed out.

"Yes, but we're not talking about a Sleeping Curse," Regina retorted.

"A curse is a curse," Tinkerbell replied, folding her arms.

"It sounds as if you're talking about an illness," Emma realized. "Once you catch something, your body develops an immunity to it."

"That's right," Tinkerbell agreed. "So maybe, this Trolden Glass spell works the same way. If Anna was affected by it, that means she'd now be immune to it. If she was here, we could use that to our advantage. Maybe use a strand of her hair to formulate a counter spell."

"That's a brilliant idea!" Mary Margret stated, her face brightening. "Do you think you could do it?"

"I'm sure if we rally all the other fairies together, we might be able to do something," Tinkerbell announced confidently.

"There's just one problem," Regina said. "We don't exactly have Anna available."

"But maybe we could still find her," Emma pointed out. "I know it's a long shot, but…maybe if we can return to that ice cave, we can find where you dropped Anna's necklace, Elsa. With it, we could cast a locator spell that would help us find her!"

Elsa's face immediately lit up at the notion of finally finding Anna again. In much the same way, everyone seemed to be latching onto the idea.

"Well, let's hope Ingrid holds off on casting her spell for a while longer," David commented. "I doubt we could find the necklace before morning. It's too dark to begin the search now."

"Even so, we probably don't have much time," Emma said. "So we should probably set out immediately after sunrise."

* * *

 **AN:** As you can probably guess, the stuff with Ingrid will be wrapped up soon. But that doesn't mean the story is almost over. Don't forget, they still have to deal with Arthur and the Camelot Crowd.


	12. An Unexpected Reprieve

Belle collapsed onto the bed next to Jefferson, her body slick from exertion. After a beat, she opened her eyes to gaze up at him to see he was looking right back at her, an expression of serene fulfillment on his face. For a long moment, the lovers simply gazed at one another, their chests heaving as they fought to catch their breaths. Finally, Jefferson reached out to brush her hair away from her face before placing a soft kiss on her forehead.

"Do you feel any better?" he asked, smiling warmly at her.

"Yes, I think I do," Belle replied, returning the smile. "Thank you, Jefferson. I needed that."

Chuckling softly, he leaned forward to press his forehead to hers. But as they were moving in for another kiss, a sudden scream rang out from down the hall. Immediately, they looked over at the door, confusion etched on their faces.

"Was that Grace?" Bella asked, furrowing her brow. "I thought she was at a friend's sleepover."

"She was," Jefferson confirmed.

After a moment's hesitation, Jefferson climbed out of bed, reaching for the pants that were hanging off the footboard as Belle sat up, holding the sheet to cover herself up. However, the moment Jefferson was starting to head towards the bedroom door, it burst open. In a flash, a pair of hooded figures burst into the room. Without a word, they lunged for Jefferson and started to drag him out of the room, managing to pull him out into the hall in spite of his attempts at wrestling himself out of their grip.

"Jefferson!" Belle cried out in alarm. Forgetting all about modesty, she scrambled out of bed and started to race after them. However, the bedroom door slammed shut mere seconds before she could reach it. Franticly, Belle tried turning the doorknob only to find it wouldn't budge. It was as if it had been locked from the outside.

In desperation, Belle turned and hurried toward the glass doors that led out to the second story balcony, hoping she'd be able to find a way to scale her way down to the ground and head the hooded figures off once she got outside. But the second she stepped foot out onto the balcony's wooden surface, her surroundings immediately changed. In the blink of an eye, Belle found herself standing on a rampart overlooking a castle that she recognized instantly as the one Rumpelstiltskin had owned in the Enchanted Forest.

A shocked gasp escaped from Belle's throat as she stared at the old building. The one she thought she'd never see again after she'd returned to Storybrooke after their expedition to clear out Rumpelstiltskin's vault had been completed. But her shock turned to horror when she saw no less than five ogres lurking about the courtyard.

For a moment, Belle was rooted to the spot, staring down at the ogres in sheer terror. She only snapped out of her fear-induced trance when she noticed the castle's front doors opening up, managing to turn and look to see who was coming outside. The moment what she was seeing fully registered, however, she wished she hadn't looked. The same hooded figures that had stormed into Jefferson's bedroom moments before were standing in the archway, keeping a firm grip on Jefferson and Grace. Even from this distance, she could see father and daughter were struggling to get free to no avail. But it wasn't until Belle saw the hooded figures shoving Jefferson and Grace out into the ogre filled courtyard that she let out a scream. Before her horrified eyes, the ogres all turned toward the pair and started to approach them.

Frantically, Belle started to look around the rampart, desperately looking for something she could throw. Or at least use to make enough noise to draw the attention of the ogres off Jefferson and Grace long enough for them to get to safety. But before she could locate anything that could help, a firm hand latched onto her shoulder in a grip so tight, it made her flinch. Instinctively, she turned to see who it was and a strangled gasp slipped from her mouth. There, standing before her, was Rumpelstiltskin, in his full reptilian glory.

"Have you so soon forgotten?" Rumpelstiltskin cackled gleefully. "It's forever, dearie!"

Throat too tight to speak, Belle could only stare in shock at the man standing in front of her. It was only when she head the bone chilling sound of an ogre roaring that her head snapped back towards the courtyard, only to see the ogres were now surrounding Jefferson and Grace. Belle was only able to have one last look of Jefferson, kneeling on the ground and cradling Grace tightly to his chest in a clear effort of shielding her eyes, before the ogres closed in around them, with one of them lifting up his club into the air in a clear intent to strike.

" _ **Noooo!**_ " Belle shrieked, unable to look away as the ogre's club began its deadly decent.

Belle's scream continued to erupt from her chest as she jerked upward, her eyes flying open. Even when she realized she was back in the master bedroom of Jefferson's house, her heart continued to race. Distantly, she was aware of the distinctive sound of a plate shattering down the hall, followed by pounding footsteps coming nearer, but it wasn't until the bedroom door flew open that she looked up to see an anxious Jefferson was standing in the doorway.

"Belle," Jefferson gasped, crossing the room to her side in a few quick strides. "I was just bringing you up something for breakfast when I heard you scream. What's wrong? Did you have another nightmare?"

As he spoke, Jefferson reached out to gently stroke Belle's cheek, searching her face with a tender concern in his eyes. Belle, however, could not find the words to respond to his question. She simply stared at him, taking in the fact that he was there and unharmed. Unbidden, that last terrible image flashed before her eyes. The one of the ogres closing in Jefferson and Grace until they were completely blocked from her view.

In an instant, Belle surged forward, burying her face into Jefferson's chest as she broke down sobbing. Both from the horror of what she'd seen in her dream and the relief that that's all it had been. In response to Belle's breakdown, Jefferson carefully enveloped her shaking body in his arms, gently rocking her back and forth in an effort to console her. It was all her could do to keep from crying himself.

* * *

It was shortly after dawn when David parked his truck in front of the ice wall that stood along the town line, with Emma and Elsa sitting in the cab with him. A few of the dwarfs were riding in the trunk bed, carrying their pickaxes. Once the engine had been turned off, everyone started to exit the vehicle.

"So, the ice cave is this way?" Doc asked, looking between the ice wall and David, Emma and Elsa.

"Yes, I think I see the opening from here," David commented, pointing to the mouth of the ice cave.

"Well, then," Leroy announced, propping his pickaxe on his shoulder. "Let's fetch this necklace, shall we?"

Without hesitation, Leroy marched over towards the ice wall, with Doc and the other dwarfs following after him. But the moment their pickaxes made contact with the ice, a deafening bang rang out through the air, and the dwarfs were all blown backward.

"You guys okay?" Emma asked as she, David and Elsa hurried forward to check on them.

"What was that?" Walter muttered, rubbing the back of his neck as he pulled himself into a sitting position.

"It looks like the wall has some sort of defensive spell on it," David theorized. "We might not be able to break into it with brute force."

"But didn't you say that Ingrid did something that prevented Elsa from bringing it down?" Mr. Clark pointed out. "So how are we supposed to get that necklace? You said we needed it to find Anna, because without her, we might not be able to stop that Trolden Glass spell."

"Actually," Elsa stated from a few feet away, "I think you managed to succeed after all!"

Glancing over, they all saw Elsa looking down at a small crack that had formed along the ice wall. After a pause, she knelt down and reached inside the crack, pulling out a silver necklace with a snowflake charm.

"Is that Anna's necklace?!" Emma exclaimed, moving to her side in amazement.

"Yes, it is!" Elsa beamed. "I'd recognize it anywhere! It's a sign, Emma! A sign we're gonna win!"

With a small laugh of triumph, Elsa moved forward to hug Emma in joy. But before Emma could respond, she was alerted by the sound of David's phone going off.

"It's Mary Margret," David announced, checking the phone ID before answering the call. Right away, Emma shared a nervous glance with Elsa. Mary Margret had stayed behind to try and do what she could to help the fairies get ready to manufacture their counter-spell the moment Anna was located. If she was calling them, did it mean something had gone wrong?

* * *

On the other side of town, Neal was sitting up in his hospital bed, waiting for the doctor to arrive in order to give him his final set of instructions before he could be officially discharged with a clean bill of health. Even though his side was still a bit sore, they hadn't detected any serious injuries. As such, he was simply instructed to take things easy for a few days. Henry, who was perched at the foot of the bed, was keeping him company while he waited. Neal had a suspicion that Emma had dropped him off earlier so Henry could stay occupied and out of trouble while they went about trying to locate Elsa's sister, Anna, in order to stop Ingrid's spell from destroying the town, but he was still grateful for this opportunity to spend time with his son. And he was taking advantage of this opportunity to try and teach Henry how to play cards.

"I don't get it," Henry announced, a statement that pulled Neal out of his thoughts.

"What don't you get?" Neal asked, looking over at the boy.

"Well, according to this cheat sheet you gave me," Henry explained, "The order goes royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, and then full house. But that's followed by an ordinary flush. And then, after straight, it goes three of a kind, and two pair. Why wouldn't ordinary flush come right after straight flush? And why is four of a kind higher than a full house when three of a kind is much lower on the list?"

For a moment, Neal could only stare, visibly taken aback. But then, he started to chuckle in spite of himself. Distantly, he remembered a time when he had asked the same question, during that time he spent among the crew of the Jolly Roger and had been learning the game himself.

"I actually don't know," Neal chuckled. "I've never understood that, either."

After a pause, in which Henry's attention briefly returned to his cards, Neal reached out to ruffle his hair.

"Hey, buddy," Neal began. "I'm sorry I hadn't stopped by to see you after your accident."

"It's okay," Henry shrugged without looking up.

"No, it's not," Neal insisted. "I was getting too focused on my….personal problems. But I…."

Before Neal could finish his statement, they were interrupted by the sound of someone tapping their fist against the wall. When Henry and Neal looked over, they saw Arthur standing in the doorway.

"Forgive me for interrupting," he announced, stepping into the room. "But after I heard about your run-in with the Snow Queen, I wanted to come by personally to see how you were fairing."

"Yeah, thanks," Neal replied. "I'm doing alright. Just waiting for the doctor to come in and give me permission to go home."

"Ah, of course," Arthur muttered, nodding to himself. "So, you probably feel up to discussing the matter of what exactly happened?"

In response, Neal frowned slightly, wondering why Arthur seemed to be so concerned. It wasn't as if they'd ever interacted before, apart from that moment when Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table first arrived in Storybrooke and helped stop Elsa's snow monster from attacking the school. But, all things considered, there was probably no harm in talking to him about it. The only problem was that he really didn't want Henry to hear the gory details of Ingrid's attack on him.

"Hey, Henry," Neal said. "Why don't you head down to the cafeteria for a bit?"

"Let me guess," Henry remarked, giving Neal a look. "That's code for ' _go away so the adults can talk?_ '"

"That and the fact that I'm actually a bit hungry," Neal stated. "Could you go and see if they have something good down there?"

Henry briefly scowled, but still left the room without a word, leaving Neal and Arthur alone.

"So what exactly did you want to hear about?" Neal asked, directing his attention to Arthur.

"Well, I just wanted to know how you felt about what happened," Arthur specified. "To think this woman was able to attack you so directly. What would have happened if Regina hadn't come to drop your boy off when she did? I admit, I find it surprising how nobody seemed to know you were in danger until that point. Especially considering you are the father of Miss Swan's son."

"Hey, it was my own fault," Neal retorted, picking up on the insinuation. "The reason why nobody knew I was in trouble sooner was….because I was avoiding them on purpose. I was being stupid. Besides, I know they're doing everything possible to stop her. In fact, they're working on their plan to stop that woman from casting her curse on the town right now."

"Oh, they are?" Arthur asked, visibly curious.

"Yeah, they figured out that Elsa's sister has an immunity to the curse, so once they find her, the fairies can produce a cure that will protect the rest of us from Ingrid's spell."

"That is quite a clever plan," Arthur commended. "Although, will that be enough to stop Ingrid? What if she comes back and retaliates once she realizes her plan has been foiled?"

"I don't know," Neal admitted. "But…I'm sure Emma and the others will think of something."

"Perhaps," Arthur shrugged. "It's a shame, though. Because I heard the reason why Ingrid attacked you was because she was trying to obtain an item your father had in his possession before he died."

"Yeah, some sort of ribbons," Neal confirmed. "Not sure what the significance of them was, though, or how Ingrid even knew about them to begin with."

"That is a mystery," Arthur agreed. "It's too bad that we cannot ask your father directly, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it's far too risky to do that," Neal nodded.

"Wait," Arthur said, cocking his head in visible interest. "I was told that your father, Rumpelstiltskin, had died. Are you saying there is a way we could talk to him?"

"Kind of," Neal sighed. "But it's not worth it."

"But if he knows where Ingrid came from," Arthur persisted, "then maybe…."

"No, I thought like that before," Neal interrupted, shaking his head. "When Regina's sister, Zelena, was trying to cast a time traveling spell, I was almost tricked into performing this ritual that could bring my father back. Thankfully, Hook, Belle and Jefferson came and stopped me before I could attempt it. As my father used to say, magic always comes at a price. And the price I would have had to pay in resurrecting him would have been my own life."

"Ah, a life for a life," Arthur mused. "Isn't that always the case?"

"Yeah," Neal agreed. "So, it's like I said. It's not worth it. That's why Hook entrusted the key to the Vault of the Dark One to one of his old crew mates. We all agreed it was best to keep it safe, and not risk it falling into the wrong hands."

"Yes, that was very wise, wasn't it?" Arthur concurred, nodding his head as a slow smile stretched across his face.

Neal was just opening his mouth to say something else when Dr. Whale entered the room in order to give him one final checkup before signing the discharge papers. Taking advantage of the distraction, Arthur casually slipped out of the room and began making his way down the hospital corridor. As he rounded the corner, however, he nearly collided with an old bearded man who was walking in the opposite direction.

"Excuse me," Arthur said carelessly, barely looking at the old man before continuing on his way. As such, he failed to notice the way the old man was watching him walk off, a piecing and shrewd glint in his wizened eyes.

* * *

When Emma, David and Elsa returned to town, they saw Mary Margret and Regina were already waiting for them outside Granny's. The town diner had been closed down for the day to allow the fairies a place to manufacture the counter spell.

"We found the necklace," Emma announced upon getting out of David's truck. "Now we just need to place a locator spell on it to find Anna, so the fairies can make the cure."

"Actually," Regina spoke up grimly. "I think things just got a bit more complicated." To back up her statement, she directed everyone's attention to the sky overhead. Out in the distance, a few miles off, a sinister looking storm cloud had formed.

"Is that my aunt's curse?" Elsa asked with wide eyes.

"It looks like it," Mary Margret confirmed. "From the looks of it, we don't have much time before it hits. Regina and I managed to contact Robin. They're currently going around, with Ruby and Hook & his crew, to try and warn as many people as they can. Tell them to distance themselves from their loved ones just in case we can't get the cure out to everyone in time."

"Then let's not waste any time," David decided. "Regina, do you have a locator potion ready?"

Regina was just pulling the vial out of her pocket when a familiar looking car pulled up. Moments after it parked a short distance away, Jefferson, Belle and Killian emerged.

"We happened to pass each other when I was returning to town after notifying Ariel and Eric," Killian explained. "When I told them about the plan to manufacture a cure for Ingrid's curse, Belle insisted on helping."

"Thank you," Elsa replied, smiling over at her. But her smile faded a bit when she noticed the look on Belle's face. "What's wrong?"

"She had a particularly bad nightmare this morning," Jefferson explained, rubbing Belle's arm in an attempt to offer her some comfort. "She couldn't even tell me what it was about. So she's still a bit shaken up."

"I'll be fine," Belle insisted. "Did you find a way to locate Anna?"

"We managed to get her necklace back," Elsa explained, holding it up for them to see. "We can use it to find her."

Upon seeing it, Belle carefully reached out and lightly touched the small snowflake charm, seemingly examining it.

"There's mirror dust in the necklace," she announced. "It's embedded in the metal."

"So that means you were right," Emma pointed out, turning to Elsa. "Your sister _was_ under the effects of Ingrid's spell when she placed you inside that urn."

"I knew it," Elsa whispered, eyes suddenly over bright. "I _knew_ Anna would never turn against me."

"Let's save the celebration for later," Regina suggested, stepping forward. "In case you've forgotten, we're running on limited time here."

Nodding in understanding, Elsa willingly passed the necklace over to Regina so she could pour the locator spell over it. In the blink of an eye, the pendant started to glow.

"It looks like it's working," David observed. "I remember utilizing this same spell when I was trying to find Snow years ago. The necklace should glow brighter the closer we get to Anna."

Without a word, they all headed off in the direction the necklace indicated they should go. To their surprise, however, the necklace appeared to be directing them into the library.

"That can't be right," Elsa observed. "I've been inside the library, and Anna wasn't there."

"It might not be the library the necklace is taking us to," Emma surmised. "There's actually a series of tunnels beneath the library. I've been down there myself, less than a year ago."

"You think Anna's down there?" Mary Margret asked.

"Well, Regina kept a dragon down there for 28 years," Emma pointed out. "I'm sure you could hide a small princess down there, too."

"Except you're forgetting something," Regina said. "There are miles and miles of tunnels under this town. We might very well run out of time before we find Anna."

"So, what do _you_ suggest we do, Majesty?" Killian challenged.

"Stop, please," Belle cut in. "There isn't time to fight amongst ourselves. "I say we should go and check up with Blue and the other fairies. Maybe _they_ have an idea of how we could locate Anna more quickly."

* * *

"Actually," Blue announced once the Nevengers had filled her in on the fact that finding Anna might require them to search the tunnel system under Storybrooke, "There might be a way for us to manufacture the cure _without_ Anna. Belle said that there was mirror dust within the necklace. We could use that to manufacture the counter spell."

"That would be exactly the same as simply using a strand of Anna's hair?" Mary Margret asked.

"No, it won't," Blue replied with a heavy sigh. "The process would be a bit longer, and more complex. But it will be just as effective. Although, I'm afraid that it will most likely destroy the necklace."

"But Elsa needs the necklace to find her sister!" Belle argued. "There has to be another way."

"I'm afraid there's not," Blue insisted. "Unless you can manage to locate Anna within the tunnels in time. But given how extensive the system of tunnels under Storybrooke is, it's extremely doubtful that you'd be able to find her and bring her back here before the curse hits."

"So, in other words," Regina concluded, "we can either save the town or find the sister. Well, I think the answer is clear. In fact, there shouldn't even be a conversation about it. We need to get this cure made and distributed, or our loved ones will be hit by Ingrid's spell. And then this town will tear itself apart."

"There must be a third option," Emma insisted, briefly glancing over at Elsa, who was clutching the necklace to her chest with an aghast look on her face. "One that won't require us to lose anyone."

"Emma," Mary Margret beamed. "You're really sounding like a hero."

Regina, however, was scowling in disgust. But before she could say anything, another voice spoke up, startling everyone.

"The refusal to give up in the face of adversity is an admirable quality. But so is accepting responsibility for the people who look to you for protection."

Upon looking over in the direction of the voice, everybody saw an old man stepping into the diner, a serious expression on his face. Immediately, a look of recognition flashed across Emma's face.

"It's you," she breathed. "I remember you!"

"Emma?" David gaped. "You…you _know_ this man?"

"Yeah, I've met him a few times now," Emma confirmed, turning to address her father. "This is the old man who helped us when Roland went missing during that snowstorm after the Christmas party here at Granny's, and then let us stay inside his home while we were waiting for the tow truck to bring us back into town after my car got stuck in a snowbank. And we met again not that long ago, too. He was the one who helped stop me when I was considering getting rid of my magic." With her explanation made, she turned back to the old man, completely missing the nervous glance David was sharing with Mary Margret.

"What are you doing here?" Emma asked the old man.

"Word of the situation you are in with Ingrid has spread through the town like wildfire," the old man explained. "And it appears that you are now faced with a difficult position. One in which you might have to choose where your true priorities lie. You can either put the safety of the town, which you swore to protect when you agreed to wear the badge you keep clipped to your belt, first or remain loyal to your friend."

"The way you say that," Emma muttered, clearly not liking what the old man seemed to be getting at, "you think I should let the fairies destroy the necklace, even if it means risking our chances of ever finding Anna."

"No," the old man sighed, shaking his head. "In the end, your decision has to be yours, and yours alone. Nobody can make it for you.

"However," the old man continued, turning his attention to the necklace that was still clenched in Elsa's fist. "You are not the only one here who is in the position where they must uphold their responsibilities. Regrettably, I'm afraid I am partially to blame for the situation you are now in. As such, I would be remiss to not try and help put things right again."

At these words, everyone began to exchange confused glances, wondering what this old man meant. The old man, however, seemed to not notice anyone's confusion. Instead, he calmly crossed the room to Elsa's side.

"Forgive me, Your Highness," he began, bowing his head in a sign of respect. "But if you'll permit me, I'd like to briefly borrow your sister's necklace."

"I can't," Elsa insisted. "I need the necklace to find my sister! If it's destroyed, I…."

"I understand," the old man reassured gently. "But I can help extract the mirror dust _without_ harming the necklace. You have my word."

Elsa didn't reply right away and simply stared at the old man in disbelief.

"Elsa," Emma spoke up. "It's okay. I think you can give him the necklace."

"But…." Elsa stammered.

"He said he can extract the mirror dust without harming the necklace," Emma persisted. "And…he's telling the truth. I believe him."

For a harrowing moment, Elsa simply looked between Emma and the old man. But then, her expression softened.

"Okay," she relented, willingly handing the necklace over to the old man. "If Emma says she believes you, then that's good enough for me."

The old man smiled kindly at Elsa, allowing her to carefully place the necklace into the palm of his hand. Once the necklace was safely in his possession, the old man reached into a pocket that had been concealed within the lining of his coat. To everyone's surprise, he withdrew a wand.

Without a word of explanation, the old man placed the tip of his wand to the snowflake pendant and began muttering words that nobody could quite make out. After a moment, he slowly began to raise the wand into the air. All at once, small flecks of dust seemed to float up out of the necklace and began swirling around the tip of the wand. Moving slowly, the old man turned around, continuing to utter the spell he was chanting under his breath and carefully walked over to the table where the fairies had set up the equipment they had planned to use to manufacture the counter spell. Once he reached the table, he magically deposited the mirror dust into a nearby watch glass.

Once the mirror dust was settled onto the circular piece of glass, the old man stepped aside. Immediately, the fairies, who had been watching the proceedings in amazement, hurried forward and began to work. But the Nevengers were unable to look away from the old man, who simply retreated to a nearby booth, where he sat with his head in his hands as if he'd been completely spent.


	13. Message in a Bottle

**AN:** This chapter will mark the turning point of the story. So everyone buckle in for the ride.

* * *

Multiple cars peeled out from in front of Granny's as the fairies all drove off in various directions. Thanks to the help of the old man, they had managed to manufacture the antidote for Ingrid's curse in time. Now came the task of distributing the cure to the people in town as quickly as possible. Even Regina and Ruby had volunteered to assist the fairies in getting the cure out, since they had the fastest cars in town.

As the cars drove off, Emma, Elsa, David, Belle and Killian crossed the street to return to the library in order to start searching the mine tunnels. Mary Margret and Jefferson were staying behind to help Granny clean up some of the fairies' equipment, which they had to leave behind in their haste to start distributing the antidote. Although, Mary Margret had said she was going to try to convince the old man to borrow one of Granny's rooms in order to lie down for a bit, on account of how he looked as if the effort involved in extracting the mirror dust from Anna's necklace had worn him out.

Once the group managed to reach the tunnels via the library's hidden elevator, Elsa ended up being the one to lead the way through the tunnels, with her keeping her eyes glued to the necklace. After they had been walking for a while, Elsa briefly stopped, turning to the others in visible excitement.

"Look!" she cried, holding up the necklace. "It's getting brighter!"

"That means we must be getting close!" David stated, mirroring Elsa's smile.

Letting out a quick laugh of excitement and relief, Elsa began walking faster through the tunnels, the nearness of Anna urging her forward while David, Emma, Killian and Belle jogged after her. But when they rounded a corner, they found themselves facing the tunnel's exit, which led out to a familiar spot.

"This is the beach!" Emma realized as the group stepped out onto the sand.

"I don't understand," Elsa exclaimed, looking between the necklace and the wide expanse of the Storybrooke beach. "She should be here! Where's Anna? I thought this locator spell was supposed to lead us right to her!"

"I'm sorry, Elsa," Belle consoled, reaching out to place a comforting hand on Elsa's arm. "But…magic isn't always precise."

"So, even though it's still glowing, because she's not here, then…." Elsa whispered. "Does it mean something happened to her? Has this all been a mistake?"

"Don't lose heart, Elsa," Killian urged, casting her a sympathetic smile. "I'm sure we'll think of…."

Killian's words were cut off when Elsa let out a strangled gasp.

"Elsa, what's wrong?" Emma asked, quickly stepping over to her side. Elsa didn't reply right away, but she slowly held out the necklace for everyone to see.

"It…it stopped glowing," Elsa breathed, the beginnings of tears forming in her eyes as she dropped to her knees. Sure enough, the small snowflake charm was no longer glowing and was simply hanging from Elsa's hand.

"Elsa," Emma sighed heavily, crouching down next to her and wrapping a supportive arm around her shoulders.

"She's gone!" Elsa cried. "She's really gone!"

With that, Elsa dissolved into broken sobs. In an effort to comfort her, Emma pulled her into a tight hug. A few feet away, David and Killian bowed their heads in sympathy while Belle covered her mouth with her hands, looking close to tears herself.

After a few moments, Elsa managed to pull herself together enough to look at the small necklace that was now nestled in the palm of her hand.

"Anna," she muttered. "Wherever you are, whatever happened to you, I'm so sorry I didn't find you. I still have faith. I know you're out there somewhere. I won't give up hope. I just wish... I wish you were with me now."

After a beat, Emma started to pull back, wiping away a few errant tears of her own.

"We should probably head back," she announced. "Maybe we can come up with…." Emma's words suddenly trailed off when she noticed the necklace's snowflake pendant was starting to glow again, only in a way that was different from before.

"What's happening?" Elsa asked upon noticing it as well. "Is it my aunt's spell again?"

"I don't know."

"Look!" Belle explained, pointing out at the water. "What's that?" In unison, everyone turned to see where Belle was pointing and saw a strange glowing whirlpool had suddenly formed in the surf.

Before anyone could say a word, let alone think of an explanation for what was going on, a magical shockwave erupted from the strange whirlpool, which blew everyone backwards. The impact of landing on the sandy beach left everyone briefly disoriented, but they slowly pulled themselves back up as they caught their second wind.

By chance, Elsa turned to look back at the water as she dusted herself off. As such, she was the first to notice the two soaking wet figures that had suddenly appeared on the beach in front of them. A strangled gasp slipped from her throat as the figures started to move, with her recognizing them instantly. But it wasn't until the red-headed woman glanced up and met her eyes that Elsa was able to find her voice.

"Anna?" she cried, taking a few cautious steps forward.

"Elsa!" Anna shouted, dashing forward with tangible elation.

As Emma, David, Killian and Belle watched, the two reunited sisters began speaking at the same time, their excitement and amazement clear in their expressions and tone.

"How did you get here?" Elsa finally asked, briefly looking at the Nevengers for possible answers or ideas.

"It was like you wished it," Emma stated. Upon hearing her, Anna looked over and quickly spotted the snowflake necklace that Emma was now holding. Right away, her eyes widened in a mixture of recognition and realization.

"My necklace," she gasped. "It was the Wishing Star!"

"This is an amazing miracle," Anna's companion said, speaking up for the first time. "But it is a cold miracle, and we're all wet, so..."

"Of course," David said with a chuckle. "We probably should get you all into town so you can dry off. Then we can really catch up, Kristoff."

Upon hearing David refer to him by name, Kristoff's head snapped around, his jaw dropping slightly in surprise.

"David?" he gaped.

"Hello," David said, slapping his back in greeting. "It's been a while. And you've cut your hair."

"Yeah, so have you," Kristoff observed.

"And I see you brought your lovely fiancée," David added, giving Anna a nod of acknowledgement. "How've you been, Joan?"

"Joan?" Kristoff repeated, casting Anna a questioning look.

"It was a… a code name," Anna explained, smiling in mild embarrassment. "David, I like your short hair. Not that I didn't like it long, or that I thought it was...I mean… Oh it's good to see you!"

"Likewise," David chucked, beaming at her. Then, as if remembering they were not alone, he gestured to Emma. "This is my daughter, Emma."

"Wait, what?" Anna sputtered, taken aback. "How can she be your daughter?"

"It's a long story," Emma replied with an awkward shrug. "We can explain everything later, after we get you two dried off."

"Wait," Elsa announced, holding up a hand. "There's something I have to do first." Without another world, Elsa threw her arms around Anna in a tight embrace, which she eagerly returned.

In a unanimous, unspoken agreement, everyone present kept silent, allowing the sisters this moment. It wasn't until she felt Killian wrap an arm around her that Emma realized how wide her smile was. Tearing her eyes away from the two sisters, she spared a glance at Killian to see he also had a smile on his face. But at the same time, she noticed an almost pained glint in his eye. In an instant, she found she knew what caused it. While Killian was clearly happy for Elsa and Anna, Emma realized that he was also feeling sorrowful that he could not have a reunion like this with his brother. Hoping to alleviate his melancholy slightly, Emma moved closer to his side, resting her head on his shoulder and being rewarded for her efforts by Killian tightening his arm around her.

When Anna and Elsa finally pulled apart, they started to lead the way towards the mine tunnels in order to return to town. But they'd barely taken five steps when Anna suddenly froze upon finally noticing Belle. The librarian had been keeping her distance the whole time, nervously shifting from foot to foot, but when she saw that Anna had spotted her, her body tensed up.

"Anna," Belle began, looking down at her feet in shame. "I…I am so sorry for…."

Before Belle could even finish her apology, Anna had quickly strode forward, throwing her arms around her in a grateful hug.

"Belle!" Anna cried happily. "You're okay! I was worried Ingrid did something to you!"

"Wait," Belle stammered, shocked by Anna's greeting. "You're not angry with me?"'

"Why would I be angry?" Anna exclaimed, stepping back while maintaining a grip on Belle's shoulders.

"Because I….I didn't save you when I had the chance," Belle clarified. "When you were hanging from the side of the cliff, I…."

"Are you kidding me?" Anna laughed. "Belle, my aunt was clearly after me. If you had kept her from taking me back then, she might have gone after you, too! In fact, up until now, I thought she _had_ done something to you while I was unconscious. You have no idea how glad I am that she didn't!"

For a few seconds, Belle could only stare at her long-lost friend in amazement. But once the fact that Anna was sincerely not the slightest bit angry, Belle's shoulders slumped in relief, the mental burden she'd carried since that day dissipating in an instant.

* * *

A few miles away from town, Anton made his way through the bean field, carefully examining each plant for signs of disease. Occasionally, he cast a wary glance over at the storm cloud that was slowly heading in his direction. The dwarfs had managed to warn him about an hour ago about Ingrid's curse, and while he knew he probably should be working on taking precautions to prevent himself from doing something he'd regret if the curse affected him, he had to make sure that the beans were holding up first, especially since this was the first winter since Regina had scorched the field in a fit of rage. It was anyone's guess if the current bean crop was resilient enough to get through the winter months.

As Anton continued the task of tending to the bean plants, he was suddenly struck by the feeling of being watched.

"Is someone there?" he asked, turning to look over his shoulder. After a few moments of scanning the area and not seeing anyone, Anton simply shrugged and returned to his work, deciding it had simply been his imagination. But, as he bent down to examine what looked to be a small bean pod, he spotted a sudden movement out of the corner of his eye. Unfortunately, when he glanced up, he only had time to make out the blurred outline of an object coming at him, followed by a sharp pain against his temple. After that, he remembered nothing.

* * *

Arthur stood over the unconscious Anton, looking down at the former giant indifferently. It was all too easy to sneak up on him and knock him out with the hilt of Excalibur. The people living in this strange kingdom were clearly naively trusting. It was surprising that no one had overthrown them yet.

Bending down, Arthur began to pat Anton down, searching his pockets and digging through the pouch attacked to his belt. In a matter of minutes, he managed to find what he was looking for, pulling out a few spare beans. Smiling to himself, he slipped the beans into a small bag he was carrying before turning and heading back towards town. With any luck, Griff had managed to complete the task he had been given without running into much interference.

* * *

With the exception of Ruby and Regina, who were still out distributing the cure, everyone was gathered back at Granny's, which had already been cleaned up. The equipment the fairies had used to manufacture their counter spell were now neatly packed up in some cardboard boxes sitting in the corner of the room. This gave everyone plenty of room to gather around the diner's booth where Anna and Kristoff were sitting, wearing a pair of fleece bathrobes Granny had loaned them while their own clothes were drying nearby. The older woman had even provided them with a hot drink, which they occasionally sipped as they gave their account of how things went for them, from the point where Elsa's missing memories began right up to the moment right before the Wishing Star brought them here to Storybrooke.

"Bloody wanker," Killian snarled upon hearing of Blackbeard's involvement in the whole tale.

"You know him?" Emma asked, turning to him inquiringly.

"Mostly through reputation, love," Killian confirmed, frowning darkly. "Though I assure you there's no love lost between us. Rival pirate captains rarely are good bedfellows."

Elsa, however, seemed more concerned with another detail.

"Anna," she gaped. "Are you telling me that Hans and his brothers have taken over Arendelle?!" Anna didn't verbally respond to the question, but her expression was all the confirmation Elsa needed. "Emma, we need to get home, _now!_ "

"Right, of course," Emma agreed, picking up on the urgency of the situation. "We just need to figure out how to get you home. Also, there's still the matter of these ribbons Ingrid placed on our wrists. We probably should find a way to remove them, too."

"Maybe that old man has an idea," Belle suggested. "He was the one who knew how to extract the mirror dust from Anna's necklace without harming it. Perhaps he might know how to remove the ribbons, too."

"That's not a bad idea," David commented. "We should ask him. Mary Margret, which room did you leave him in?"

Before Mary Margret could respond, a strange crunching sound began to fill the room and everyone started to look around to try and locate the source of the sound. It was Kristoff who pinpointed it first, alerting everybody to the fact that the windows were freezing over. In the blink of an eye, the front door flew open with a wave of frigid wind and snow, allowing Ingrid to stride into the diner.

"What is going on?" she demanded, glaring at everyone in the room. "My curse should be in full effect now. You should be at each other's throats!"

"Sorry to disappoint you," Emma said as everyone rose to their feet in defiance. "But we managed to create a counter spell that made everyone immune."

"What have you done?" Ingrid cried, aghast. "Don't you see? All I've done was so we could finally be together!"

"Get it through your head, lady!" Emma declared. "Elsa and I are not your sisters and we're never gonna love you!"

"Oh, Emma," Ingrid sighed. "I know that you actually believe that. And that makes me sad. But I know that sadness won't last because soon, you'll see you're wrong."

"Not likely," Kristoff stated, grabbing a napkin dispenser from a nearby table and holding it up as if to throw it at Ingrid. The older woman, however, was clearly not perturbed by the proposed threat and simply magically shoved him backwards with a wave of her hand, resulting in him nearly sliding headlong into the jukebox.

"Kristoff!" Anna cried, running to his side in visible concern.

In the blink of an eye, the others started to react to Ingrid's attack. While Jefferson moved protectively in front of Belle, David and Emma withdrew their guns, Killian unsheathed his sword and Granny pulled out the crossbow she'd had stashed behind the counter. Ingrid, showing no sign of concern to how she was outnumbered, simply gave a casual hand gesture, magically conjuring up jagged ice spikes that erupted out of the floor. The ice spikes formed so quickly, everyone had to do some quick dodging to avoid getting skewered. Even so, one of the icy points ended up snagging the side back of Killian's coat, tearing it slightly. As the fabric ripped, a glass bottle slipped out from the pocket and dropped to the floor. By some miracle, the bottle didn't shatter upon hitting the hard tile floor. Instead, it rolled across the ground before coming to a rest in front of Anna, who was kneeling next to the half-dazed Kristoff. When the bottle bumped against her leg, Anna looked down in curiosity and saw a scroll of parchment nestled inside it, along with a shiny crystal. After sparing another glance at Kristoff to make sure he wasn't seriously hurt, she picked up the bottle and carefully opened it. Wordlessly, she pulled out the parchment and unrolled it, enabling her to read the words written across it. As she read the message, her eyes widened.

"Hook, where did you get this?" Anna asked, turning to Killian in amazement.

"It was on the beach," Killian stated. "I noticed it partially buried in the sand shortly after you two appeared. A seafaring man can hardly ignore a message in a bottle."

"Why's that important?" David asked.

Anna, instead of replying, scrambled to her feet to gingerly try to maneuver past the icy spikes that were now forming a barrier between them and Ingrid, Elsa & Emma, ignoring everyone as they tried to warn her back.

"Wait! Stop!" Anna cried once she managed to push her way past the ice spikes.

"Anna!" Elsa cried upon seeing her stepping between her and Ingrid. "No, she's too dangerous!"

"You should listen to my sister and go," Ingrid taunted with a sneer.

" _Your_ sister?" Anna gaped. "She's mine! And whatever you're gonna do? Well... don't." With that, Anna held up the letter in her hand so everyone could see it. "Elsa, this was out on the beach! It's from our mother! She must've thrown it into the ocean before their ship sank. It came over in the portal with Kristoff and me!"

"Be careful!" Emma warned as Anna stepped closer to Ingrid.

"No," Anna declared with a shake of her head. "I'm not gonna be careful. She needs to hear this. You all do!" Without further preamble, Anna began to read the letter out loud. "Elsa, Anna, I don't know if your father and I will ever get back to you, but I need you to know we were wrong to tell Elsa to conceal her powers."

"How fitting that you, who are so much like your mother, should share her last words," Ingrid scorned. Anna, however, showed no indication that she even heard her and continued on.

"I feel terrible that it happened before and I can't let it happen again," she read.

"What?" Ingrid whispered, suddenly taken aback.

"My sister Ingrid, like you, also had ice powers," Anna read. "I never told you about her or my other sister, Helga, but I should have. They were beautiful and kind and wonderful, and I was fearful. And I let that fear guide me. I let Ingrid hide when I should have celebrated her for the person she was. I loved her so much."

"You're lying!" Ingrid shouted. "My sister _hated_ me! She called me a monster! She put me in that urn, like you did Elsa!"

"In this crystal," Anna continued, holding up the small stone, "are the memories of my sisters, which I stole from the people of Arendelle. Please return them. My sisters deserve to be known. In a cave in the north valley, you'll find an urn that contains Ingrid. Please do what I should have done long ago and release her. When you see her, please tell her I love her and I'm sorry. I'd give anything to take back what I did, to hold her hands one more time."

Ingrid's face contorted with rage as she magically started to choke Anna, turning a deaf ear to everyone as they shouted at her to let her go.

"I understand, Aunt Ingrid," Anna gasped, managing to choke out her words in spite of Ingrid's attack. "I understand now why you cast your curse. But you can come back from it."

" _Understand me?_ " Ingrid scoffed, shaking with emotion. "How could you? You're _nothing_ like me! You understand _nothing!"_

"You're right," Anna permitted. "I'm not like you. My mother wasn't like you. But if she was able to love you for who you are, so can I. You're a part of our family no matter what. And family never gives up on each other."

" _You lie!_ " Ingrid screeched, magically shoving her backward.

As Anna knelt on the floor, gasping for breath upon being released from Ingrid's chokehold, Elsa hurried to her side to support her sister, with Emma keeping a wary eye on Ingrid. To her surprise, however, Ingrid didn't seem to be paying them any mind. Instead, she stepped over to the letter, which Anna had dropped. Wordlessly, she picked it up again to read it for herself. In doing so, she saw the proof that Anna hadn't been making up what the letter had said. Ever so slowly, the hate and anger melted away from her face, being replaced by shock, amazement and finally remorse.

"Oh," she whispered, tears beginning to run down her cheeks. "Oh, Gerda."

As everyone watched, Ingrid dropped to her knees and began to weep.

* * *

Unbeknownst to everyone in Granny's, the old man had been silently watching the proceedings through the front window. A relieved smile formed on his face as he witnessed how the confrontation had been resolved. It appeared as if he wouldn't have to step in after all. The young Anna had managed to diffuse the situation all on her own. He would be lying if he said he wasn't grateful for that. He knew that, if he had interfered this time, it would have undoubtedly led to a multitude of questions. Many of which were best left unanswered for now. It wasn't the right time yet.

After one last glance through the window, allowing him to see Elsa and Anna enveloping their aunt in a supportive hug, the old man turned to head off down the street in order to return to his home. But he had barely taken five steps when he was struck by an intense feeling of forbidding. One so strong, he physically stumbled and had to steady himself by placing a hand against the side of the building. Breathing heavily as he recovered from the intense feeling of dread, he gave his head a quick shake, willing himself to pull himself together.

One thing was abundantly clear. Something very bad was happening. As to what, he wasn't sure, but there was only one way to find out. Even though he was still feeling a bit lightheaded, the old man began to push himself forward, but in the opposite direction of his own house. If he had any chance of making contact with his old master, he would need to make his way to the mansion that, to his knowledge, remained undiscovered deep in the woodland surrounding Storybrooke.

* * *

Elsewhere, Arthur was making his way through a snow filled forest, holding aloft a burring torch for light. Accompanying him on his trek was one of the men who had arrived in Storybrooke alongside him and the rest of the Knights of the Round Table. Together, they entered a snowy clearing. Upon entering the clearing, the light from the torch reflected off a circular stone platform that was built into the ground.

"That must be it," Arthur announced, a maddened glint in his eye. Turning, he addressed the man that accompanied him on his journey. "Tell me, Griff. Do you still have the key you took from that pirate's dwelling?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," Griff confirmed, holding out the object in question.

"Excellent," Arthur smiled widely. "Now, you remember what it is you must do, I trust."

"I…I do," Griff replied, his face paling slightly. "But…there must be some other way."

"I wish there was," Arthur said bracingly, slapping a hand to Griff's shoulder. "Truly, I do. You told me you always dreamed of sitting at the round table one day. Well, now I'm offering you something greater. A chance to die in service of Camelot. Your death will be the cornerstone of a great new kingdom."

Briefly, Griff looked from Arthur to the key in his hand and finally to the stone platform that marked the entrance to the Vault of the Dark One.

"For Camelot," he whispered.

"For Camelot," Arthur repeated, giving the other man a firm nudge forward. After another short hesitation, Griff squared his shoulders and began to approach the stone platform, the key to the Vault clutched tightly in his hand.


	14. Storm Clouds Gathering

AN: This chapter will officially mark the halfway point of this story. Here's hoping the second half will meet everyone's expectations.

* * *

"So, you think they'll be alright?" Kristoff asked, tearing his eyes away from the scenery to look over at David, who was sitting in the driver's seat of his old Ford truck.

"Yes," David replied after a lengthy pause. "I'm sure they will. And if there is trouble, Ruby and Granny are there to keep an eye on things. They'll let us know if we're needed."

The two men were currently making their way to the Storybrooke stables so they could check up on the horses and see how they fared when Ingrid's curse hit the town, as well as give the women a bit of privacy. After the discovery of Gerda's letter, it seemed as if Ingrid had completely turned herself around, even returning the memories she had taken from Emma and Elsa. The restored memories had led to the two women being able to fill in a lot of the blanks in regards to the questions they'd had for the past few weeks, so they had both wanted the opportunity to really talk about them with Ingrid. While Granny and Ruby were sticking close by just in case Ingrid was only trying to lure them into a false sense of security, everyone else had agreed to allow them all the chance to talk alone. And while David and Kristoff were making their way to the stables, Mary Margret and Killian were heading over to Neal's place in order to see if he was settled in after being discharged from the hospital, as well as pick up Henry.

Eventually, David parked his truck in front of the stables, allowing him and Kristoff to climb out. Upon noticing the way Kristoff was looking at the truck as he walked around it, David could not fight the amused smile.

"Not at all like riding in a sleigh, is it?" he quipped.

"This really _is_ a strange realm you ended up in," Kristoff replied. "Do you ever think of going back?"

"Oh," David said, his brow furrowing in thought. "Well…. Sometimes, I do miss the Enchanted Forest, yes. But at the same time, I think I've grown accustomed to this world and its conveniences as well. Honestly, I really don't know anymore, Kristoff. And the subject hasn't really come up in a while. Right now, I think we're just trying to focus on the baby and getting him…or her…born."

"I suppose that's a smart position to take," Kristoff said, nodding in understanding as they started to enter the stables. "How long will it be before the baby is born?"

"Not for another three months. So we're really hoping nobody else tries to….."

David's words trailed off when he spotted a movement out of the corner of his eye. Immediately on his guard, he quickly looked over his shoulder, only to see Regina standing a short distance away. She was looking right back at him, a shocked expression on her face. Before David could even begin to ask her what she was doing there, Regina turned and ducked behind a tree. Seconds later, wisps of purple smoke drifted out from behind the tree, indicating that Regina had teleported away, leaving David completely mystified. What exactly was Regina planning to do at the stables that she clearly didn't want to be caught doing?

David was just considering reaching for his phone to call Mary Margret or Emma to inform them of Regina's odd behavior when he heard Kristoff calling out his name from inside the stables. It was Kristoff's tone that really caught his attention. While his friend didn't sound afraid, there was still a trace of urgency in his voice. Pushing his concern over Regina's behavior aside, David turned and jogged into the stables. Right away, he found Kristoff, staring in shock at a reindeer that was inside one of the stalls.

"Oh, right," David chuckled, looking at the reindeer, who was letting out a series of grunts and barks. "I nearly forgot about this guy."

"Where did you find him?" Kristoff asked, continuing to stare in shock.

"It was someone from Hook's old pirate crew that found him, actually," David explained. "Bit of a long story, but it was part of his attempt to impersonate Santa Claus, a popular figure in a holiday that exists in this realm. We're not sure where he found him, though. But we've been keeping him here ever since.

"Interesting," David added, taking note of how the reindeer was now scratching his front hooves against the stall door, almost like a dog scratching to go outside. "He seems to really like you."

"It's Sven!" Kristoff cried, reaching out to affectionately stroke the reindeer's muzzle.

"Wait, Sven?" David asked, completely taken aback. "You mean the reindeer that you've had since we were boys? Are you sure?"

"I think I'd know my best friend," Kristoff pointed out. "How did you get here, buddy?"

* * *

A short time later, Emma, Killian, David, Belle, Elsa, Anna, Kristoff and Ingrid were following Smee as he made his way through the woods just north of town, with Sven trotting along after them.

"Are you sure this is where you found the reindeer?" Killian asked, addressing his first mate.

"Yes, sir," Smee replied. "I'm almost certain it was around here."

"Why is this relevant again?" Ingrid sighed, casting an uncertain glance at Sven while Killian gave Smee permission to return to town.

"Don't you realize?" Anna answered. "If Sven appeared here in Storybrooke, it means he must have found a way here from Arendelle somehow. So, if we search around the area where Mr. Smee found him, we might be able to find the way Sven managed to travel into this world."

"And with luck," Elsa concluded, "the doorway or portal he used is still open. Which would allow all of us to go back home."

After the group continued to look around for a bit longer in silence, David suddenly stopped, looking up at something through the trees.

"What's that?" he asked, continuing to stare. Upon turning to look in the direction David was indicating, everyone instantly noticed what appeared to be the ridge of a large building. Sure enough, when they all managed to navigate their way around the trees to get a closer look, they found a well-cared for mansion standing before them.

"Wow," Emma breathed. "Who lives here?"

"I don't know," David said. "I had no idea this was here. And I don't remember seeing any record of this place when we were going through the town records while looking for any information on Anna's whereabouts."

Curiosity getting the better of them, the group cautiously entered the mansion. Although, Kristoff paused at the door to address Sven as the reindeer tried to follow them inside.

"Hold on, Sven," Kristoff said. "You should wait out here for a bit." In response, Sven let out a few grunts of annoyance.

"Don't give me that attitude," Kristoff scolded. "We don't know how the person who lives here feels about reindeer." Sven let out a snort of disproval, but simply sat down in a dog-like manner. Seeming to understand that Sven was going to stay put, Kristoff followed the others into the mansion.

The interior of the mansion proved to be just as grand as the outside. Although, even though the place was clean and well cared for, Emma couldn't help but feel a certain level of discomfort. It took her a moment for her to realize the problem. The mansion was lacking the necessary homey ambiance. In fact, standing in the mansion's foyer felt more like being in a historic museum than someone's actual house.

Just as the group were starting to look around, they were all alerted by the sound of someone moving about in the next room. Acting on impulse, David and Emma reached for their revolvers while Killian withdrew his sword. But their caution was soon revealed to be meaningless when the Old Man from earlier stepped into view.

"Oh, it's you!" Anna exclaimed, her face breaking out into a bright smile. "I'm so glad to see you got turned back into a man. I'd have felt horrible if you were stuck as a mouse. I'm really sorry about that, by the way. I had no idea that vial he gave me was an antidote and not a poison, so…."

"It's quite all right," the Old Man chuckled, visibly amused by Anna's explanations. "I'm well aware of how deceptive that man could be."

"Wait, you've met him, too?" Emma asked, looking between them in amazement.

"It's a long story," Anna said with a shrug. "But yes, I briefly met him while I was away searching for the reason why our parents left."

"Anna, what exactly did you get up to while you were away?" Elsa sighed, shaking her head. Although, the bemused smile on her face indicated a response wasn't necessary.

"What are you doing here?" Anna asked, returning her attention to the Old Man.

"I was hoping for the chance to speak with someone regarding something important," the Old Man explained. "But I heard you all coming in before I could reach him."

"Are you saying you know the person who lives here?" David questioned.

"That," the Old Man replied, "is a question for another day. At the moment, I do wonder what brought you all out here."

"We had reason to believe there might be a portal or a gateway around here that could help them return to Arendelle," Killian explained. "We were searching for it when we came across this mansion."

"Ah, of course," the Old Man replied. "Well, perhaps I can help with that."

"You can?" Emma gaped, both amazed and confused.

"When you've lived as long as I have," the Old Man announced, "you'll often find that the things you're looking for may be right in front of you."

As the Old Man spoke, he crossed the room until he was standing in the middle of the foyer. Before everyone's eyes, he raised his arms and made a sweeping motion with his hands, as if he was tracing a rectangular shape in front of him. Instantaneously, a large wooden door appeared out of thin air.

"It's a door portal!" Belle exclaimed. "Like the one Jefferson, Ruby and I used to travel to Oz during our expedition to the Enchanted Forest a few months ago!"

"Look!" Anna cried excitedly, pointing at the elaborate designs painted on the door. "Crocuses! Arendelle Crocuses! Elsa, we're almost home!"

"I'll get Sven," Kristoff announced, turning to fetch the reindeer in question.

As Kristoff disappeared through the doorway, Elsa turned to Emma.

"Well, I guess this is it," she said.

"Appears so," Emma agreed.

"Emma, thank you for everything," Elsa stated with tangible gratitude. "You've done so much; I could never repay you!"

Without another word, Elsa moved forward and pulled Emma into a hug, which Emma returned with no sign of hesitation.

"Thank you all for taking such good care of my sister!" Anna added, beaming at everyone.

"Of course," David agreed. "It was our pleasure. Now, don't you all have a kingdom to go save?"

"We sure do," Anna confirmed, a determined gleam appearing in her eyes. "I hope Hans isn't too comfortable on that throne 'cause I'm gonna knock him right off the minute we get back."

"And the second minute we're back," Kristoff added as he returned with Sven, "maybe we could get married? Just a thought."

"Oh, that's right!" Anna cried, looking around to address Emma, Killian, David and Belle. "Once everything is settled back home, we have our wedding to get to! Of course, all of you are invited, so I hope you all can come!"

"We wouldn't miss it," Belle promised. "Until then, please take care."

As Anna continued to say her personal goodbyes to Belle and David, Emma cautiously turned to Ingrid, who had been standing to the side. When she noticed that Emma was looking at her, she gave her a cautious smile.

"Will there be any lasting effects of the Trolden Glass spell?" Emma asked in concern. "I know the antidote kept everyone safe. But will there be any residual fallout or anything?"

"You're worrying about your younger sibling, aren't you?" Ingrid guessed. "There shouldn't be any lingering effects from the Curse of Shattered Sight. It's already run its course. So there's no chance of it affecting the child once they're born."

After a beat, Ingrid hesitantly moved forward and took hold of Emma and Elsa's hands. The moment she made physical contact, the yellow ribbons that had been fastened to their wrists instantly fell off.

"I know it's not enough to make up for everything I've done these past few weeks, Emma," Ingrid began, carefully picking up the two ribbons and folding them up in her hand. "But I am truly sorry for everything I did. And I am very glad you found your family. Even if it wasn't with me."

"Will you be alright?" Emma asked, concern for the older woman evident in her tone.

"Long ago," Ingrid stated, "a prophecy told me that you would lead me to my happy ending, Emma. And I think this might be it. All I wanted was to have my sister's love. And now, thanks to you, I know I've always had it."

"And when we return home," Elsa vowed, "Anna and I will follow through on our mother's last wish. We'll bring back the memory of you and Helga to the people of Arendelle. It might take some time, Aunt Ingrid, but I'm sure you, Anna and I can become the family we were always supposed to be."

While Ingrid's expression seemed to suggest she didn't quite share Elsa's optimism, she still nodded her head in agreement.

Soon, everyone had completed their goodbyes, with Anna even surprising Killian by kissing his cheek in gratitude, and Elsa, Anna, Ingrid Kristoff and Sven ventured through the door portal. Once their friends had departed, Emma started to turn in order to question the Old Man. She could no longer overlook how often he seemed to turn up at the most convenient times, or how he seemed to know so much. Particularly in regards to magic. But to her surprise, the Old Man was nowhere in sight.

"Where'd he go?" she asked as she continued to look around.

"He couldn't have left the room without any of us seeing, could he?" Belle wondered.

"It's possible he simply had other matters to attend to," David surmised. "He said he'd been trying to talk with someone when we got here. Maybe he left to do just that."

"Maybe," Emma allowed, her shoulders slumping in disappointment. "I just wish I could have had a few moments to talk to him. I had so many questions for him."

"Try not to fret about it, Swan," Killian advised, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure you'll find the answers to your questions in time. After all, we both know where that old man lives. Now that our friends are back home, we'll have plenty of time to pay him a visit."

"He's right," David agreed. "For the time being, we should just take a moment to celebrate the fact that our friends were able to return home, and that the town was saved from Ingrid's curse. Focus on the good moments."

"Yeah, I suppose that's true," Emma sighed, smiling in spite of her lingering questions. "Okay, let's go home."

Slowly, Emma, Killian and Belle began to file out of the room. But David hung back a bit, covertly sending a text message to Mary Margret, informing her that the Old Man had shown up again, and that Emma seemed to know where he lived. After a few harrowing moments, his phone chirped as Mary Margret's response popped up.

 _I know, I'm as concerned as you are. But I managed to have a quick word with him earlier. He gave me his word that he wouldn't tell Emma about what we did back then. Even if Emma goes out to look for him again, we have to have faith that he'll keep his word._

David let out a heavy breath, rereading the text message. As much as he wanted to share his wife's optimism, he still felt a nagging feeling in his gut.

"Dad?" Emma's voice called out, snapping David out of his thoughts. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," David replied quickly, returning his phone to his pocket. "I was just sending a quick word to your mother."

Without another word, David followed the other three out of the mansion to begin the trek back into town.

* * *

Robin was making his way through the woods with a small number of his men fanned out behind him. He was just starting to think about announcing his decision to return to their camp when he spotted movement a short distance away. Without hesitation, he changed direction to approach the source of the movement. As such, he found himself face to face with Regina, who seemed just as surprised to see him.

"Robin?" she blinked. "What are you doing out here?"

"We were in the middle of a search party," Robin explained. "When my men and I were distributing the antidote that you dropped off to make sure we'd all be protected from the effects of Ingrid's curse, we also were going around making sure all of our guests from Camelot got some as well. But King Arthur wasn't anywhere in the encampment. And nobody, not even Queen Guinevere, could tell us where he was. So we all headed out into the woods to try and see if we could find him."

"Have you had any luck?"

"Afraid not. We were just about to return to camp to see if he made his way back on his own. But that's when I saw you wandering about."

For a moment, Robin simply studied Regina's face, taking in her downcast expression.

"Is there something you want to talk about?" he asked. "You seem upset about something."

"Never mind about that," Regina huffed, waving away his concern. "I think a missing king is a bit more important than my hang-ups. Especially if he hadn't taken the fairies' cure before the curse hit. We need to find him right away. He might only be one man, but who knows what he could do under the effects of the Trolden Glass?"

Nodding in agreement, Robin turned and allowed Regina to follow him back towards the camp.

* * *

Belle gave one last glance around the library, going through her mental checklist to make sure she had taken care of everything before closing the library for the evening. When she was sure that she hadn't forgotten anything, she turned off the circulation desk's computer and retrieved her coat from the back of the chair before heading towards the door, switching off the lights before exiting out onto the street. After locking the door behind her, Belle turned to glance up at the darkening sky, breathing in the evening air. Even though it was still the middle of winter, it was not unbearably cold tonight. Nevertheless, she still pulled her coat closed for additional warmth as she looked up and down the street, searching for the familiar sight of the turquoise car. She didn't have to wait long before a pair of headlights appeared from around the corner and a soft smile immediately formed on her face as she stepped back, giving Jefferson enough room to park his car in front of the library. The car had barely come to a stop before the passenger opened and Grace hopped out, immediately hugging Belle in greeting.

"Hello, Grace," Belle said, returning the young girl's hug. "How are your other parents?"

"They're fine," Grace announced. "Thanks to all of you, they got the cure in time."

"That's very good to hear," Belle stated.

"So," Jefferson began as he stepped over to the pair. "Did Anna, Elsa and the others make it back home alright?"

"They did," Belle confirmed. "They still have to resolve the whole issue with that Hans person, of course, but they seemed confident that they could handle that easily enough. Though we're going to keep the portal to Arendelle open for a while. Once they get the kingdom secured again, they still have Anna and Kristoff's wedding to think about. And Anna said she wanted us all to be there."

"That's something to look forward to," Jefferson commented. "I'm glad you were able to make peace with Anna."

"I am, too," Belle sighed. "And how about you? Do you feel ready for tonight?"

"What, you mean dinner with your father?" Jefferson chuckled. "How bad could it be?"

Instead on answering his question, Belle simply giggled softly before standing up on her tiptoes to give him a loving kiss, which he reciprocated with equal tenderness. However, after they stepped apart, Jefferson was just turning to hold the car door open for Belle when he heard her sudden gasp of alarm. Immediately, his head snapped around to look at her, taking in her shocked expression as she stared at something across the street.

"What is it?" Jefferson asked, following her gaze and seeing nothing out of the ordinary.

"I…." Belle stammered. "I thought I saw….."

Belle never finished her statement, simply continuing to stare. After a few moments, she gave her head a quick shake.

"Never mind," she remarked with a dismissive shrug. "It was probably just my imagination."

"Belle, are you sure you're okay?" Jefferson persisted, noticing she still looked a bit pale.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Belle insisted, smiling up at him. "Let's go. We have a dinner to get to."

Jefferson didn't seem quite convinced, but he relented, letting the matter drop as he helped Belle and Grace into the car, driving off into the night shortly afterward. Once the car was out of sight, the unmistakable figure of Mr. Gold emerged from the shadows across the street, a dark expression on his face as he looked out in the direction Jefferson had driven off in.


	15. Rising Tensions

The morning after Elsa, Anna, Kristoff and Ingrid returned to Arendelle was a misty, drizzly one. But the atmosphere within the loft apartment that greeted Emma when she came down for breakfast did not match the weather outside. Right away, she spotted David and Mary Margret nestled together at the small dining table. They appeared to be in the middle of an intimate conversation, though they both looked up when they heard Emma coming down the stairs.

"Hey, am I interrupting something?" she asked, looking between the pair.

"No, not at all," David replied. "We were just discussing our plans for next Thursday."

"Next Thursday?" Emma repeated, frowning slightly in confusion. "What's going on next Thursday?"

"Don't you remember?" Mary Margret asked, her expression showing her shock and surprise. "Next Thursday is Valentine's Day!"

"Oh," Emma blinked. "Right, of course. I guess I forgot. So, you're planning to go out to celebrate it, then?"

"I think we can all agree that last Valentine's Day wasn't so great for us," Mary Margret sighed, reaching out to grasp David's hand. "What with us both being cursed. But that's why we wanted to make sure to do something extra special this year. We can't take back or change what happened last year. All we can do is move forward and try to replace bad memories with good ones."

Emma could only give a wry smile as she poured herself a bowl of Cheerios, setting aside a second bowl for Henry, who she could hear in the bathroom getting ready for school. She couldn't deny she wasn't able to understand where her mother was coming from. It wasn't as if she ever had a pleasant Valentine's Day herself. The closest she'd ever came to having a good Valentine's Day was when she was attending grade school, where everyone in class got those cheap assorted Valentine's cards that came in the box.

A short time later, David left in order to drop Henry off at the bus stop before heading down to the Sheriff's station to cover the morning shift. This left Emma and Mary Margret alone.

"So, what were _your_ plans, then?" Mary Margret asked, jumping right into it.

"My plans?" Emma blinked, a bit confused.

"What were you and Hook going to do?" Mary Margret clarified. "You two are planning on doing something for Valentine's Day, aren't you?"

"Oh," Emma muttered, feeling a bit self-conscious. "I…. I don't know. The subject never came up."

"Well, have you told him about it?" Mary Margret wheedled. "After all, it's possible he doesn't even know about the holiday. We didn't have an equivalent to it in the Enchanted Forest, after all."

"No, I didn't mention it," Emma admitted. "I…I actually didn't even think of it. Valentine's Day wasn't exactly a holiday I acknowledged that much in the past. Besides, I don't want him to feel like he was obligated to make a big deal of it. Not to mention the slight issue with Henry."

"I thought Henry was okay with you and Hook," Mary Margret pointed out.

"That's not what I meant," Emma sighed. "I wouldn't feel right just up and leaving him by himself all evening. Since you and Dad have plans, you won't be able to watch him. I don't want to just assume Regina will be available, considering she and Robin seem to be at a tentative place right now. And…I admit I wouldn't feel right leaving him with Neal. It would be…."

"Awkward," Mary Margret supplied, nodding in understanding. "Well, why not Archie? He always cared about Henry. And he's already watching Pinocchio for the evening, so Marco could go out."

"Marco has a date?" Emma gaped in surprise.

"Yeah," Mary Margret confirmed, a sly smile forming on her face. "He's having dinner with Granny. Ruby told me."

"Huh," Emma commented, shaking her head in mild disbelief. "I never would have guessed."

"So?" Mary Margret prompted, giving Emma an expectant look. "Will you at least say you'll consider telling Hook about it?"

Before Emma could formulate a response, they were interrupted by the sound of someone pounding a fist at the door. Upon answering the knocking sound, they found a very red-faced Leroy on the other side. However, he didn't look particularly angry. Instead, there seemed to be a look of panic on his face. He appeared to be out of breath, as if he had just ran there.

"Leroy, what is it?" Mary Margret asked.

"You gotta get over to the hospital!" Leroy exclaimed, pointing over his shoulder. "It's Tiny!"

"Wait, _Anton?_ " Emma gaped, stepping into the conversation. "What's wrong? Is he okay? What happened?"

"Me and the other dwarfs found him out in the bean field yesterday," Leroy explained. "We were taking him some of the antidote for the Snow Queen's curse so he'd be protected. But when we got there, he was lying out there on the ground! There was a nasty cut on the back of his head, too! It looked as if someone hit him over the head!"

"What?" Mary Margret gasped, eyes widening in shock.

"Why did you wait until now to tell us?" Emma demanded, already pulling on her coat to head out to check on her friend. "If you found him like that yesterday….?"

"We weren't going to risk moving him into town with the curse raining down, were we?" Leroy pointed out. "And you know there's no cell phone reception down by the field, so we could hardly call somebody. We had to wait until morning to drive Tiny to the hospital. Doc managed to stop the bleeding, and Tiny woke up a little before dawn, but…"

"It's okay, Leroy," Mary Margret reassured. "I'm sure you all did your best. Let's just get down to the hospital, so we can ask him what happened."

* * *

Henry was sitting quietly on the wooden bench, waiting for the school bus to arrive, but he was far from alone. A small crowd of his fellow students were gathered around him, showering him with questions. It seemed that word of the incident in the woods that had led to his brief absence from school had spread like wildfire. The thing that surprised Henry the most was that some of the kids standing around him were ones he'd never spoken to before that day. There were even a few students who weren't even in his grade. At first, it had been fun. Henry couldn't remember when he had ever been this popular. However, it was starting to get a bit tiresome the longer he sat waiting for the bus. So he was rather grateful that Grace, Nick and Ava were sitting with him, as they helped deviate some of the attention off of him. After all, they had been there, too.

Still, Henry found himself frequently looking up the street, hoping to see the school bus approaching so he'd have a convenient excuse to put an end to the questions being bombarded at him. That was how he was able to spot Killian making his way along the street. Right away, Henry saw his chance to both escape the attention of his classmates and speak to the pirate captain about something he'd been wanting to say for a while. After giving his peers what he hoped was a polite dismissal, he hopped off the bench to approach Killian.

"Hello there, Henry," Killian greeted upon noticing the boy approaching him. "Glad to see you're feeling better."

"Yeah, I guess," Henry remarked with a shrug. "But I realized I never got a chance to thank you."

"For what?" Killian asked, taken aback.

"I remember what happened when Ingrid tried to attack us in the woods, during that scavenger hunt," Henry clarified. "You were the one who got there first. You stopped her from letting those icicles fall on us. So, thank you for that."

"You're quite welcome, lad," Killian replied, though visibly a bit embarrassed. It was clear he was not accustomed to being thanked.

"What are you up to today?" Henry asked, catching on to Killian's awkwardness.

"I was seeing if the local clothing shop also sold the proper materials for repairing torn seams," Killian explained. "I seem to have run out of the thread I normally use to handle it, so I'll need to replenish my stores of thread."

"You mend your own clothes?" Henry blinked in surprise.

"Of course! It's a necessary skill when you spend an extended period of time out of sea, and don't have easy access to a tailor."

"I guess that makes sense," Henry allowed. "So…I guess you're getting ready for next Thursday, then?"

"Next Thursday?" Killian repeated, furrowing his brow.

"Yeah, you said you had some repairs to do on your clothes. So that means you have something special picked out for…." Henry trailed off when he took in Killian's expression. "Wait, you _do_ know next week is Valentine's Day, right?"

"Oh, is that another holiday in this realm?"

"Yeah, it is. It's kinda a celebration of love. A lot of couples go out on special dates that day, or exchange gifts of flowers, chocolate and jewelry."

"Ah, so it's a courtship ritual of some kind," Killian concluded.

"Something like that," Henry agreed. "Aren't you and Mom planning on doing something?"

For a moment, Killian could only stand there, trying to decide if Emma hadn't mentioned this holiday event because it had simply slipped her mind or if she had purposely not told him about it.

"Captain?" a lethargic voice called out, catching Killian and Henry's attention. In unison, they turned in the direction of the voice and started in shock and alarm. There, standing a close distance away, was Starkey and his girlfriend, Beverly. Right away, it was immediately clear they were both in a bad way. Beverly was leaning into Starkey as if she needed his support to walk, and there was dried blood caked to the side of Starkey's face and temple.

"Starkey!" Killian exclaimed in alarm, hurrying to his crewman's side, helping him to steady Beverly as she stumbled slightly. "What happened to you two?"

"It…it was King Arthur," Starkey muttered, seemingly struggling to keep his eyes open. "One of his knights…showed up….at Bev's cottage last night….and…and…."

"Easy, mate," Killian instructed firmly but not unkindly. "Don't strain yourself. Let's just get you to the hospital."

"Let me help," Henry offered, starting to approach them.

"No, Henry," Killian insisted, shaking his head. "I know you want to help, but I reckon you've missed enough school. I'm sure Emma, Regina and Neal won't want you to miss any more. I promise I'll fill you in later."

Henry, a disgruntled expression on his face, started opening his mouth to argue, but he stopped when he felt someone taking hold of his wrist. Looking over his shoulder, he found that Grace, Nick and Ava had appeared behind him. While Nick and Ava were both staring at Starkey and Beverly in concern, Grace was simply looking back at Henry expectantly. Realizing what she was wanting to say without her having to say it, Henry let out a sigh of defeat.

"You promise you'll fill me in after school?" he asked Killian, glancing back at him trustingly.

"Aye, lad," Killian promised. "Now hurry along. You'll miss the bus."

As Henry turned and headed back to the bus stop with his friends, Starkey reached out and gripped the side of Killian's coat to catch his attention again.

"Captain," Starkey spoke urgently. "I'm sorry, Captain, but…you need to know. Arthur's knight; he was after the key! The key to the Dark One's vault!"

"He was _what?_ " Killian exclaimed. "What is he planning to do with _that?!_ "

* * *

"So you didn't see who attacked you?" Emma asked, wrapping up her interview with Anton.

"I'm sorry, Emma," Anton muttered, holding the ice pack to his head. "Whoever knocked me out came at me from behind. I never saw their face."

"It's okay," Emma reassured him, smiling in sympathy. "I appreciate what you were able to tell me. For now, just focus on taking care of that bump on your head and take it easy."

As Anton laid back down in the hospital bed, Emma stepped out into the hall to convene with Mary Margret and David, who had been notified of the incident and had come down from the sheriff's station to join them.

"Who would have done this?" Mary Margret wondered. "I can't think of anyone who would have attacked him. Especially when everyone in town was busy trying to protect themselves from Ingrid's curse."

"Think it might have been her?" David speculated.

"The thought crossed my mind," Emma admitted. "But what exactly would have been her motivation for doing so? Ingrid had been focused on trying to get me and Elsa to become her new sisters at the time. I don't think she'd have had any need for Anton's magic beans."

"Even so, maybe we should ask her about it," David suggested. "After all, the portal is still open in that old mansion. Considering we have no other suspects at the moment….."

"Maybe you can ask Arthur," Killian stated, suddenly appearing behind them.

"Hook?" Mary Margret gaped, surprised by his sudden appearance. "What are you doing here?"

"I came escorting Starkey and Beverly," Killian explained. "They had an interesting story to tell me. Apparently, one of King Arthur's knights broke into their home yesterday. He was looking for the key to the Dark One's vault. Even physically assaulted the pair of them in order to obtain it."

"He what?" Emma gasped. "Are they okay?"

"They'll be fine," Killian reassured. "Though I'm sure they'll both be a bit shaken up for a while."

"I take it you're suggesting that Arthur is the one who attacked Anton?" David frowned, folding his arms. "That's a serious accusation, Hook."

"Perhaps," Killian allowed. "But if appears that Anton was attacked around the same time that Beverly and Starkey were. Seems rather convenient timing for it to have simply been a coincidence. So, either Arthur was directly involved in the attacks or more than one of his knights went rouge. And if it was the latter, he must have noticed something amiss."

"What do you think, Emma?" Mary Margret asked, seeking her judgement. Briefly, Emma's eyes widened at the realization that her mother was deferring to her, but she quickly pushed aside her surprise to take charge.

"Hook has a point," Emma decided. "At the very least, we should check with Arthur, to see if he has anything to say about the attack on Starkey and Beverly. At best, he was simply ignorant of it, and he therefore deserves to know what happened so he can deal with the errant knight himself. But at worst, the knight was acting on his orders. And if he _was_ acting on Arthur's orders, then the timing of it seems suspicious."

"So it looks like we'll have to make a trip to Robin's camp," David agreed.

* * *

Upon reaching the encampment, Emma, David, Killian and Mary Margret found the atmosphere within the site was heavy with tension. The Merry Men were all standing guard around the perimeter, while the people from Camelot were visibly on edge. Two of the Merry Men even insisted on personally escorting them to Robin's tent. Inside, they found Robin in the middle of keeping Roland entertained while Regina was at work with creating some sort of potion.

"What's going on?" David asked when they took in the scene.

"Hopefully nothing," Robin replied. "But around the time we were distributing that cure for the Snow Queen's curse among my men and our guests from Camelot, we discovered King Arthur was missing. The most concerning thing was none of his people were able to account for his whereabouts. Not even Queen Guinevere seems to know where he is. Although, I confess I had the feeling that they were not being completely honest with us. And Regina agrees with me. So, she was brewing a truth potion of some variety."

"If we can get them to drink it," Regina continued, "then it will make them more inclined to start talking, and tell us the truth."

Briefly, Emma shared a concerned look with Killian and her parents.

"Well," she sighed. "Looks like we have even more reason to be suspicious of Arthur." Upon noticing the confused expressions of Robin and Regina's faces, she filled them in on the attacks on Anton, Starkey and Beverly, and how Starkey identified one of Arthur's knights as a culprit.

"This is getting more disconcerting by the minute," Regina muttered, shaking her head.

At that moment, a small distraction came in the form of Alan a'Dale.

"Robin, please excuse the interruption," he said. "But King Arthur was just sighted trying to sneak back into camp. He's with Gilbert and Much now."

"Thank you, Alan," Robin said, getting to his feet. "Think it's time to have a little chat with a certain king, don't you think?"

After entrusting Roland to Mary Margret's care, the Nevengers headed to join Gilbert and Much, who were standing guard over a disgruntled looking Arthur.

"I hope you have a good reason for these men accosting me," Arthur demanded the moment the Nevengers approached him.

"We actually have a few questions for you," Robin stated, being the first to approach Arthur. "I'm very curious as to where you've been since yesterday."

"I was not aware I had to request clearance to leave with you if I wished to stretch my legs," Arthur commented, fixing Robin with a contentious look. "My whereabouts shouldn't concern you"

"It does when you disappear when there was a curse on its way," Emma spoke up. "And I admit, the fact that your sudden absence turns out to coincide with some other certain events also raises some concerns. It so happens that, around the time you disappeared from Robin's camp, someone attacked our friend, Anton, out at his bean field. And we've also received an account from two people that one of your knights attacked them in their home."

"I don't know what you're implying," Arthur snarled, turning his baleful glare onto Emma. "But I don't know _anything_ about these attacks you mentioned."

 _Lie,_ hissed the voice in the back of Emma's head. Briefly, Emma returned Arthur's glare with a smile before looking over to share a look with the others. She couldn't help but notice that, while David, Robin and Regina all shared the same expression of stern suspicion, Killian was giving her an amused smile. She made a mental note to ask him about that later.

"Regina?" Emma asked, turning the older woman. "Is that truth serum of yours ready?"

"Of course," Regina announced, summoning a vial of the potion into her hand. "So, who wants to do the honors of forcing his mouth open?"

At that moment, Arthur managed to wrench himself out of Gilbert and Much's grip, getting to his feet in a flash. Before anyone could do anything, Arthur reached for his sword, ripping it from its place on his belt. However, Arthur did not make any attempt at removing the sword from its sheath. Instead, he began trying to use the sword's pommel as a bludgeon. He was able to get a few good strikes in, clobbering Gilbert across the temple and elbowing Robin in the stomach. During the struggle, he even managed to knock the vial Regina was holding out of her hand, resulting in it smashing over rock. Thankfully, he wasn't able to do further damage before Killian charged in, managing to catch the sword in mid-swing with his hook. With a well-executed twist of the wrist, he yanked the sword out of Arthur's grip and allowed it to fall to the ground. Once the sword was out of Arthur's hand, David and Much were able to apprehend him, locking his arms behind his back.

"Are you okay?" Regina asked, crouching down next to the momentarily winded Robin as he gingerly rubbed the spot where Arthur elbowed him.

"Fine," Robin replied, accepting her hand to help him to his feet.

Briefly, Emma glanced around, making sure David and Much had a firm grip on Arthur and ensuring that Robin and Gilbert weren't seriously hurt. Only then did she turn to pick up Arthur's sword off the ground. As she bent down, she noticed the impact of the sword hitting the ground had caused it to slide out of the sheath, allowing her to catch a glimpse of the blade.

A soft gasp slipped out of her throat as the appearance of the actual sword began to register in her mind. Without even thinking about it, she slowly started to pull it out, ignoring Arthur's angry demands to not touch Excalibur.

"Killian?" she began, turning to look at him. "Look! It looks just like like….."

"I noticed," he replied darkly, frowning down at the sword blade, which bore a design and markings that were too similar to the Dark One's dagger to ignore. And, from the expressions of David and Regina's faces, they were noticing the resemblance as well.

It was at that moment that Emma remembered the warning Belle and Jefferson had given her when Arthur had first appeared in Storybrooke. They had told her that they'd encountered Arthur before, during their expedition in Rumpelstiltskin's old vault. And that Arthur had been almost too interested in the subject of the Dark One's dagger. Was this why? Was there a connection between the dagger and Excalibur? And if there was, did Arthur know about it?

"Regina, do you have some more of that truth serum back in Robin's tent?" she asked. "Because I have a feeling we're going to need it."

* * *

A short time later, they had brought Arthur into Robin's tent and, after securing him to a chair, Regina had gotten him to drink some of the truth potion she'd brewed. While Arthur had made a valiant attempt at resisting the potion's effects, he soon began to explain everything.

"Only a small number of my most trusted knights know Camelot's greatest secret," he stated. "That sword, which was what made me king, has been broken. It was broken since before I was able to find and pull it from the stone. For years, I've hunted its missing piece, which, according to my research, had become the Dagger of the Dark One."

"That's why you questioned Belle about it," Emma concluded.

"It is," Arthur confirmed. "When I heard her account of how the Dark One died, with his dagger disappearing along with him, I despaired at the thought that all my searching was now in vain. But then, I learned from your son's father that there was a way to resurrect him. I finally saw my chance to reforge Excalibur into the sword it once was, and use it to truly be the king I was meant to be. And finish the quest Merlin himself prophesized to me."

"Wait, you mean you spoke to Neal?" Emma blinked, suddenly feeling a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. "What did he tell you?"

"He told me about the Dark One's vault, and the ritual that could be performed to resurrect the Dark One."

"But that's the ritual that Belle, Jefferson and I stopped Neal from utilizing months ago," Killian realized. "That ritual required a life sacrifice! But…you're clearly still here."

"Indeed I am," Arthur acknowledged. "But you forget that I have a number of knights who are loyal to me. And Griff, who had always dreamed of sitting at the round table one day, was grateful for the chance to die in service of Camelot."

"What have you done?" David gaped as he and Mary Margret both went pale at the implications of what Arthur had said. "You…willingly sacrificed one of your people to bring back the Dark One?"

"Don't you see?" Arthur exclaimed. "It had to be done! Without the Dark One being brought back, his dagger would be lost forever! And I need that dagger to restore Excalibur, and make Camelot the great kingdom it was meant to be!"

For a long moment, Emma, Killian, David, Mary Margret, Robin and Regina all exchanged aghast expressions. It was clear that they were all thinking the same thing. Arthur had completely lost his mind.

"What is wrong with you people?" Arthur demanded, realizing the Nevengers were all thinking he was crazy. "Don't you understand what this means? You can all benefit from the Dark One being back, too! With him, you might stand a chance against the Snow Queen!"

"Obviously, you've missed the memo," Regina retorted, folding her arms. "We've already dealt with that. Ingrid is no longer a threat to us."

"What? How?" Arthur asked, visibly surprised by the news.

"Never mind how," Killian replied. "Let's discuss more important matters. Such as where exactly the Dark One is now."

At this question, Arthur looked the other way, as if he was too embarrassed to meet anyone's eyes.

"I…I cannot say where he is at this precise moment," Arthur admitted.

"In other words," Emma sighed heavily, "Rumpelstiltskin gave you the slip right after you brought him back, forcing you to come back empty handed." The flustered expression on Arthur's face was all Emma needed to confirm her suspicion.

"So…Rumpelstiltskin is back," Mary Margret concluded. "And… he could be anywhere. What are we going to do?"

"First off," Regina decided, frowning at Arthur in displeasure. "We'll need to decide what we're going to do with him."

"I probably should take care of that," Robin decided. "At least until we can decide on something more permanent. Especially since the fact that we essentially captured and interrogated King Arthur might not go over well with the people of Camelot. They may be here as our guests, but he is their king."

"Be sure to let us know if you need assistance," David offered.

One by one, they slowly filed out of the tent, leaving Arthur under Robin's care. Once they were outside, Emma chanced a nervous glance over at Killian to try and gauge his reaction to the news that Rumpelstiltskin was back. However, while she did notice that telltale twitch in his jaw, his face remained relatively passive.

Before she could think to ask him about it, her attention was caught by Regina, who was starting to walk off without a word.

"Regina, where are you…?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Regina asked, looking back over her shoulder. "I know it's been a while, but I seem to remember that Gold was considering going after Henry before he'd died while trying to stop Pan. I know it's possible that he might not try to make an attempt on Henry's life again, but I just want to make sure he's okay."

"While you're at it," Killian said. "I promised the boy I'd fill him in on what's going on later. He was there when I came across Starkey and Beverly, after all."

"I'll be sure to fill him in, then," Regina agreed. With that, she left to make her way to the school.

"But what _would_ he do?" Mary Margret wondered. "If he really is back, what would his first move be? Would he simply try and pick up where he left off? That might be a problem, since his shop is gone, and we've already returned all the items to the rightful owners."

"It's possible he might think the deals surrounding those items are no longer null and void," David speculated. "He might try and reforge them."

"We can worry about that later," Emma decided. "Right now, there's only one thing we need to think about. We have to let Neal and Belle know."

"Especially since it's possible he might go see them first," Killian added, catching on to Emma's thought process. "They'll need to be properly notified that he was brought back to life, so they'd have the chance to let the news sink in before seeing him in the flesh. They deserve better than finding out by him appearing before them without any warning."

David and Mary Margret both nodded in agreement.

* * *

In the library's Special Collections room, Belle was sitting on the leather sofa, taking advantage of the lull in activity to take her lunch break. A small tray containing cups of tea and crumpets with butter and jam was resting on the nearby table, but her attention was currently focused on the worn-out book in her hands. Softly, she read the book aloud to Jefferson, who was lying contently next to her, with his head resting in her lap.

"But Gideon was unafraid," Belle read, absentmindedly running her fingers through Jefferson's hair. "He drew on his sword and turned to face the Evil Sorcerer, ready to save the people he loved."

Belle continued to read the old book until she heard the door to the Special Collections room opening. Tearing her eyes away from the pages, she saw Emma stepping in. With her was Mary Margret, David, Killian and, to Belle's surprise, Neal.

"Oh, hello, everyone," Belle greeted, smiling as she set the book aside. Likewise, Jefferson moved himself up into a sitting position in order to provide the other Nevengers with his undivided attention.

"Hey, Belle, Jefferson," Emma began, shifting slightly in disquiet. "I'm really sorry to have to interrupt you two like this but…." Briefly, Emma trailed off, momentarily glancing over at the others for support, unsure of how to go about filling the two in on what they'd just learned.

"What?" Jefferson prompted, looking between Emma and the rest of the Nevengers with a furrowed brow, taking in their expressions. He was particularly concerned with the way Neal appeared particularly shaken up. Indeed, his face was unsettlingly pale, and he seemed unable to meet anybody's eyes, even though he occasionally glanced out the window as if he was half-expecting to see someone outside. "What is it? Did something happen?"

Emma let out a heavy sigh, preparing herself for what she had to say next.

"Belle?" she said. "There's….something you should know."


	16. Belle's Choice

Regina stood silently in front of Storybrooke Elementary, waiting for school to let out. As she waited, her mind went back to what she'd heard Arthur say, and how he willingly sacrificed one of his knights to resurrect the Dark One for his own purposes. Briefly, she wondered how anyone could justify such a thing.

 _Isn't that what you did, when you ordered your knights to wipe out entire villages in order to track down Snow White?_

Instantly, Regina winced as the voice, which sounded annoyingly like the cricket's, whispered in the back of her mind. Nevertheless, she still was unable to keep herself from also remembering the angry reprimand she'd gotten from Kathryn the day before. Nor could she fight the uneasy feeling churning in her gut as she shifted self-consciously from foot to foot. With a jolt, she realized she was actually feeling guilty.

To her relief, the students started filing out of the school at that moment. Taking advantage of the chance to distract herself from her nagging thoughts, she started moving closer to the crowd of children exiting the building. As she neared the school, she caught sight of Henry emerging, accompanied by Grace and the Zimmer twins.

"Mom?" Henry blinked upon noticing her standing there. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to pick you up after school," Regina replied. "And…to tell you what's going on. The pirate said he'd promised to fill you in, so I guess it's up to me to uphold that promise."

"Why? Did something happen?" Henry asked. "Are Emma and the others okay?"

"They're fine," Regina reassured. "But they're currently busy, informing Neal and Belle about this."

"About what?" Grace asked, stepping over.

For a moment, Regina paused, looking at Henry's friends. There was probably no harm in Grace being present. After all, if Belle was being notified about Rumpelstiltskin's resurrection, then Jefferson would most likely know by now, too, considering the two seemed to be joined at the hip now. But she wasn't sure about the Zimmer twins. All things considered, they and their father were nothing more than ordinary civilians of Storybrooke. Was it a good idea to spread this information to everyone in town? She'd might as well just tell Leroy.

However, it was Ava who seemed to make the decision for her.

"Nick, let's go," she said, lightly tugging on her brother's arm. "Papa will be waiting. Bye, Henry, Grace. See you two tomorrow."

As Ava and Nick headed off, Regina couldn't help but notice the distrustful way Ava was looking back at her over her shoulder. Once again, she felt that same guilty feeling in her gut, remembering how she'd tried to keep the two siblings away from their father.

"So, what's going on?" Henry asked, returning Regina's attention to the matter at hand.

"Yes, of course," Regina began. "Yesterday, when we were all busy in trying to combat Ingrid's curse, King Arthur and one of his knights managed to make off with some of Anton's magic beans, as well as the key to the Vault of the Dark One. They were planning to resurrect Rumpelstiltskin through the same method Neal nearly used during the incident with the Wicked Witch. And…unlike Neal, they completed the ritual."

"Wait, you mean…. Mr. Gold is back?" Henry exclaimed as he and Grace shared a look of surprise.

"If what Arthur said was true, then yes," Regina confirmed. "Which is a problem, as we have no idea what he'll do now."

Before anything more could be said, a sudden distraction appeared in the form of another student that Regina didn't recognize.

"Hey," the student said, approaching them. "Henry Mills?"

"Yes," Henry replied. "Jackson Keen, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, that's right," Jackson confirmed. "I was asked to give this to you." As he spoke, Jackson handed Henry a rolled-up sheet of paper.

"Thanks," Henry said, taking the paper from Jackson, who immediately turned and walked off. Curiously, Henry unrolled the paper, revealing it as a handwritten letter.

"It's from Violet," he announced as he glanced at the writing.

"What's it say?" Grace asked in interest, leaning in to look at the letter over his shoulder. Regina also moved closer, glancing down at the note in Henry's hand. The visible interest on her face was quickly replaced by concern when she heard Henry's sudden intake of breath.

"She's been forbidden from seeing us," Henry announced, handing the letter to Grace so she could read it, too.

"What?" Regina gaped.

"It's because of what happened with King Arthur," Henry explained. "The people of Camelot are angry with how we questioned him about resurrecting Mr. Gold. They're now planning on severing their ties with us and vacating Robin's camp. Violet's father has completely forbidden her from hanging out with us."

"Well, we'll see about that," Regina announced, frowning in displeasure. "Come on, you two."

With that, Regina led the two children to where her car was waiting. Although, she made sure to school her expression so they wouldn't see the worry she was feeling. If Arthur and the rest of his knights were now viewing them as enemies now, would this lead to a war to break out between Storybrooke and the people of Camelot?

* * *

If Belle hadn't already been sitting on the couch, she would have collapsed due to her legs growing numb.

"So…Rumple is… _alive?_ " she whispered, visibly stunned.

"It appears so," Emma confirmed.

For a long while, Belle simply sat in silence, a multitude of emotions washing over her face as the news sank in. But then her gaze darted over towards Jefferson, as if she was trying to gage his reaction. However, he was simply staring down at his lap, his expression completely unreadable.

"We understand this must be quite the shock," Mary Margret spoke gently, crouching down as best as she could with her round stomach in order to grasp Belle's hands in comfort. "But we all felt you deserved to hear it from us. If he _is_ back, he's sure to come to you, sooner or later."

"I think… I think he already has," Belle admitted, her face growing suddenly pale.

"Come again?" Neal asked, tearing his eyes away from the window.

"Last night," Belle explained, "when Jefferson was picking me up at the library so we could head over to my father's for dinner. I…I saw him across the street."

"Why didn't you say so before?" Jefferson questioned, finally looking up, though his expression still did nothing to give away his mood. "Why didn't you just tell me that was who you saw across the street?"

"Because I thought I imagined it," Belle replied. "I thought it was just my mind playing tricks on me. That it was my lingering fears from that nightmare I had the other night."

Jefferson didn't verbally respond to that explanation and simply nodded, returning his gaze to his lap.

"Okay, so he already approached Belle, or at least was about to," Emma stated. "Where is he now, then?"

"A better question is, where would he go?" Mary Margret mused. "His shop isn't there anymore, what with it being repurposed into Neal's art dealership. And we haven't gotten around to handling the repairs to his mansion. If he's gone there, he'll just be greeted by a foyer filled with broken furniture and fallen plaster."

"Perhaps he's gone to his cabin," David suggested.

"What should we do if he has?" Emma questioned.

"Well, we should reach out to him, shouldn't we?" Mary Margret asked. "After all, he was…gone for almost a year now. It must be quite a shock for him, considering how much has changed in town in that time."

"I suppose," Emma allowed. "But what concerns me is that he hasn't made his presence known, apart from the brief glimpse Belle caught of him last night. Why is he keeping to the shadows?"

"You suspect he's up to something, Swan?" Killian surmised.

"Maybe," Emma commented with a shrug. "This is Gold we're talking about. But what could he be up to? After all, everything he's done for the past few hundred years was to find his son again. And he's already done that." To emphasize her statement, Emma waved a hand towards Neal. "So all he'd have to do is approach him openly. But he clearly hasn't done that yet. Why not? Is he planning something else?"

"Are you suggesting we take him prisoner, in order to interrogate him?" David asked.

"No," Emma sighed. "On what charge could we apprehend him? To our knowledge, he's done nothing wrong, yet."

"Everyone?" Belle began, speaking up. "Could…you all give us a moment?"

It was only then that everybody noticed the concerned way Belle was looking at Jefferson, who was avoiding eye contact with her. Catching on to the sudden apprehension in the air, the Nevengers backed out of the room, granting the pair their privacy.

"Jefferson?" Belle spoke softly, reaching out to place a hand on his knee. "Please talk to me."

"What do you want me to say?" Jefferson asked, a resigned tone to his voice.

"I…I don't know," Belle admitted, looking down at her lap. "Just…say you're not mad at me?"

"What?" Jefferson gaped, finally looking back at her. "I'm not mad at you!"

"You're not?"

"Of course not! What made you think I would be?"

"You…just seemed upset, so I thought….."

"It's not because of you," Jefferson reassured. "I suppose I was just unsure about what you were going to do next."

"What do you mean?" Belle asked, tilting her head slightly in confusion.

"Belle, Rumpelstiltskin, or Gold, or whatever you want to call him; he's back. How do you feel about that?"

"I…I'm not sure," Belle admitted. "I feel…happy, and confused, and…maybe a bit scared. I'd already accepted the fact that I might never see him again. And I thought I came to terms with that. Now, hearing that he's actually back…."

"You want to see him," Jefferson concluded. It was not a question.

"I…" Belle trailed off, realizing that she was unsure of how to respond.

"I'll understand if you do, you know," Jefferson continued, now staring at a random spot along the far wall. "I know you and him were….."

Belle's eyes widened, and she could only stare at Jefferson in shock, realizing what he was trying to say.

"Jefferson Hatter!" she exclaimed, shaking her head in disbelief. "Are you…. Do you think I'll simply run back to Rumpelstiltskin now that he's back? As if these past few months meant _nothing_?"

"You told me about how you almost were able to share True Love's Kiss with him," Jefferson reminded. "The fact that it was working before he pulled back suggests that he's your True Love. From what I know of the matter, that means that you and him are supposed to be together."

Briefly, Belle started to open her mouth in order to give a response to Jefferson's statement, but she found she couldn't think of one. Was that really what it meant to share true love with someone? That you had no choice other than to be with them? Regardless of how you might feel about it? Didn't she have a say in the matter?

Those questions were still plaguing her mind when the door opened again. In unison, Belle and Jefferson looked over to see Mary Margret poking her head in the room.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," she said. "But we just got a call from Regina. She said there's something important we all need to discuss. We're heading over to her mansion now."

"We'll be right out," Jefferson announced. Mary Margret nodded in acknowledgement, but she still cast the pair of them an uncertain glance as she backed out of the room again. The instant the door clicked shut, Belle stepped forward and entwined her fingers into his. This simple action caught Jefferson's attention, and he immediately looked back at her, a full spectrum of emotions on his face.

"I don't know what's going to happen," Belle admitted, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. "But whatever it is, we'll discuss it tonight, when we get home. Okay?"

"Of course," Jefferson agreed, giving her a quick smile that didn't quite meet his eyes. "When we get home." Belle, accepting that was the best response she was going to get at the moment, moved up onto her tiptoes in order to kiss him. She took it as a good sign when Jefferson reciprocated.

* * *

When the Nevengers arrived at Regina's mansion, she wasted no time in filling them in on the letter Henry had received from Violet, explaining how Arthur and the rest of the visitors from Camelot were making a movement to sever ties with them.

"Well, where do they think they're going to go?" David questioned. "I mean, yes, the spell around the town line won't affect them as they weren't a part of the curse like the rest of us. But do they plan on venturing out into the Land Without Magic?"

"It might be worse than that," Regina said. "Remember we briefly detained their king. It's looking as if they viewed that act as a declaration of war."

"I think Regina's right," Killian agreed. "Arthur has already proven he wouldn't hesitate to go after the people of this town, and that was when we were supposedly on good terms. There's no telling what he'd do now that he's no longer maintaining a friendly front to us."

"I can't believe this is happening," Grace stated, speaking up. "I mean, we welcomed them all into town and offered to help them get home to Camelot. And Arthur thanks us by deceiving us?"

"I'm afraid the world is full of people like that," Jefferson sighed, visibly sad that his daughter had to learn such a hard lesson.

"Okay, so how should we proceed, then?" Emma wondered aloud. "I don't suppose you designed Storybrooke to have a formal army, Regina. Or some other manner of defense we could utilize in case Arthur turns this into a real fight."

"Of course not," Regina huffed. "How was I supposed to know we'd be in this situation?"

"You really think the Camelot Knights will try and fight us, then?" Neal asked, frowning in concern.

"Of course I'm not hoping for that to happen," Emma replied. "But we're talking about a legendary king and his band of knights. And, as far as they're concerned, we've displayed open hostility towards them. We'll need to prepare for anything."

"Perhaps we can round up the people who used to serve as our knights back in the Enchanted Forest," Mary Margret mused. "I'm sure they'd be willing to fight to defend the town the same way they defended our old castle."

"I'm not sure what they'd be able to arm themselves with, though," David pointed out. "Storybrooke doesn't have much in the way of weapons or armor. Not to mention I think we lost a lot of our guards on the day the Dark Curse was cast, when the Black Knights invaded the castle."

"Well, why don't we ask Mr. Gold?" Henry suggested. "He'd be able to help, wouldn't he?"

For a moment, nobody responded to Henry's inquiry and simply exchanged looks. It was Emma who finally stepped forward to crouch down in front of him, so their faces were level.

"I'm sure he could, Henry," she said. "But there's the fact that we're not completely sure of where he is now."

"Not to mention he'd probably want something in return," David added.

"But don't you remember how he died?" Henry persisted. "He died while saving us. Doesn't that count for something? Maybe he'll be willing to continue helping us, now that he's back."

Emma paused for a moment before replying, considering Henry's argument.

"Well," she said, glancing over her shoulder to gage everyone else's expression. "I suppose there's no harm in asking him. Though finding him might be another matter."

"We could try calling him," Neal suggested.

"No need for that, son."

Everyone instantly started upon hearing Mr. Gold's voice and looked over to see the man himself sitting contently in a nearby armchair. He seemed to be taking in everyone's reaction to his sudden appearance with amusement.

"So you _are_ back," Regina noted.

"Indeed," Gold replied with a curt nod. "No thanks to any of you, of course. But that's another matter, isn't it?"

"Bringing you back required a life sacrifice," David countered. "We learned that when Neal nearly attempted it. Or are you saying you would have been okay with your son dying to resurrect you?"

For the span of a few seconds, a stricken look appeared on Gold' face, but it was gone just as quickly as it had appeared. Wordlessly, he rose from his chair and looked around the room, once again studying everyone's faces.

"I admit," he began, "I am surprised that nobody seems all that happy to see me. Not so much as a greeting from my own son. Or even from _you_."

The last word was directed at Belle, who seemed to shrink back under the piercing look Gold was directing at her. Without even thinking about it, Jefferson instinctively moved to rub her back in comfort, but he froze with his arm half-extended when he noticed Gold's gaze shifting over towards him.

It was Mary Margret who broke the heavy silence.

"'You have to understand that it's been a while since you helped stop Pan," she pointed out. "It's almost been a year, and…."

"I'm aware that things have clearly changed while I was gone," Gold interrupted. "The absence of my shop is testament to that."

Emma, feeling this conversation was going nowhere, chose that moment to step in.

"Gold, I'm afraid this might have to wait. There's a matter that we have to talk about."

"I take it that you're talking about the trouble that's brewing between you and King Arthur," Gold said.

"We could use your help with that," Emma sighed, confirming his statement.

"And why exactly would I do that?" Gold asked. "If you got yourselves into this mess, that's your business, not mine."

"So you do not care about what Arthur might do, then?" Killian challenged, his eyes hardening in anger. "Not even when he's after your bloody dagger?"

"Need I remind you, pirate, that Arthur was the one who brought me back?" Gold retorted, glaring at him in mutual hatred. "Perhaps I am feeling magnanimous towards him for that. As for my dagger, I'd like to see him try and take it."

"Papa," Neal interjected, stepping forward. "Are you seriously telling me that you'd just step back and do nothing if Arthur declares war on Storybrooke? In case you've forgotten, I'm a part of the town now."

"You should know I don't wish any harm to come to you, Bae. _Neal_ ," Gold replied, his expression softening slightly. "If you wish it, I can easily put together a room just for you at my estate. You can be safe and protected there. Along with anyone else you want to bring with you."

"So, that's it," Jefferson established. "Still the same Rumpelstiltskin I remember. Don't care if the rest of the world falls to ruin, as long as you and yours remain unharmed."

"Oh, look at you, acting like you can claim to be morally superior," Gold scoffed, looking over at Jefferson with a critical glare. "You forget I remember the days when you were my personal courier, when you would fetch anything I requested for a little bit of gold. You never cared who got hurt back then. Remember that enchanted cauldron that would always remain full of food, no matter how often people ate from it? You didn't seem to care that you were taking that poor village's main food source when you agreed to collect it for me."

Jefferson's face paled significantly at the harsh reminder of his past actions. It was with a shamed expression that he glanced cautiously at Grace and Belle, as if he was unsure he wanted to see their reactions to Gold's words.

"Oh, and before you can try and claim otherwise," Gold went on, "Don't pretend that I can't see you're still the same man who wouldn't hesitate to claim what belongs to _someone else_." Right away, Belle let out a soft gasp, realizing that Gold was casting a pointed glance at her.

"You were dead," Jefferson stated stiffly.

"Indeed," Gold sneered, still glowering down at Belle. "So tell me, Belle. How long did you wait before you threw yourself into the arms of another man? A month? A week? A day?"

"It wasn't like that!" Belle cried, aghast.

Before Belle could say another word in her defense, Killian drew his sword, pointing it at his old adversary.

"That's enough, Crocodile," he snarled. "She doesn't have to defend herself to you."

"Quite protective, aren't you?" Gold smirked. "I wonder. Could it be that you also had your turn with her? Wouldn't be the first time you stole from me."

"Don't you dare!" Jefferson snapped, striding forward. "Don't you _dare_ make that kind of insinuation about her!"

However, Jefferson was barely able to get within an arm's length of Gold when the older man extended his hand. In the blink of an eye, Jefferson jerked to a halt, his eyes widening in shock as a strange gurgling noise slipped out of his throat. It only took a moment for everyone to realize that Gold was magically strangling him.

"Stop it!" Grace shouted, her eyes wide with fear.

"Papa, _no!_ " Neal cried at almost the same time.

Gold showed no indication that he heard their pleas, simply smiling cruelly as Jefferson's fingers scuffed away at his neck in a vain attempt at easing the pressure in his throat. Although, when David and Killian made movements to try and interfere, Gold shoved them both back with a wave of his hand.

For Belle, time seemed to have stopped. All she could do was stare in shock at what was happening. But when she saw David and Killian being blown backwards, she managed to snap out of her daze. All at once, she realized what she had to do, and her chest tightened at the thought. Nevertheless, she turned towards Gold and walked decisively forward. Without any hesitation, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him full on the mouth. The kiss seemed to catch Gold off guard, for he released his hold on Jefferson, who dropped to the ground, gasping for breath.

When Belle moved back slightly, she still kept her arms wrapped around Gold, staring beseechingly up at him.

"Please, Rumple," she pleaded. "Just let them go."

"Why exactly should I?" Gold challenged, studying her expression closely. Belle took a deep breath before replying.

"Years ago," she said. "You and I made a bargain. I agreed to go with you, as long as my family and friends would live. I wish to make that bargain again."

"Do you really?" Gold demanded.

"Yes," Belle nodded. "Spare their lives, and I will go back with you willingly. We can even go back to how things were before. Do we have a deal?"

Slowly, a fiendish smile stretched across Gold's face, and he curled an arm around Belle's waist, holding her firmly to his side.

"Deal," he contracted. Without another word, he gestured with his free hand, teleporting both himself and Belle away in a cloud of black smoke.

The smoke cleared away in a matter of seconds, but everyone remained frozen in place, still shocked into silence over what had just happened. Even Regina seemed to be at a loss for words, her mouth open in astonishment. The only sound within the room was coming from Grace, who was hugging Jefferson's neck. The little girl was softly crying into her father's shoulder, her body shaking slightly. Though Jefferson was resting a hand against her back, he stared ahead blankly, appearing completely numb.

"Belle," he choked out, a mixture of shock and grief filling his voice.

* * *

Shortly after nightfall, Killian briskly walked over to Granny's, knocking on the locked door with his hook. When the door opened, he was briefly greeted with the old woman's crossbow, but the woman lowered it immediately upon recognizing him. Wordlessly, she stepped aside to allow him access into the diner, which had been repurposed into a makeshift war room so the Nevengers could properly plan against anything Arthur and his knights might try.

At the moment, Emma, Regina and Robin were gathered around one of the tables, where a map of the town was laid out. When Killian entered, they all looked up at him expectedly.

"I've got Smee, Bill Jukes and Robert Mullins standing guard over at the Troll Bridge," he announced. "And Tink has taken some of the former Lost Boys to patrol the North Woods, while the Dwarfs are stationed over by the old mines."

"Alright, so with the Merry Men out by the town line, that should cover all the main routes into town," Emma mused, her attention returning to the map in front of her. "With luck, that should give us a chance to get fair warning if Arthur attempts to organize a sneak attack."

"And the protective spell I cast on many of the houses on the outskirts of town should offer those families protection from being captured, should Arthur consider taking any hostages," Regina added.

"Any word yet on how David and Mary Margret are doing in rallying the other royals in town?" Robin asked.

"They're doing their best," Emma replied with a sigh. "Though we can't deny the timing of this is problematic. Thomas and Ella have Alexandra to think about. And Aurora is in her third trimester, so Phillip will probably consider her and the baby to be his main priority."

As the four continued to confer and discuss strategy, Ruby stepped over, offering them all mugs of coffee.

"You doing alright there, lass?" Killian asked, noticing the drawn expression on her face.

"I'm just worried about Belle," Ruby admitted. "You don't think Gold will do anything to her, do you?"

"I don't think we have to worry about that," Emma assured, though she also looked concerned.

"Aye," Killian agreed. "He may be a bastard, but he does love her."

"I suppose you're right," Ruby sighed. "It's just… I've been talking with her father, Moe French. He's been trying to call her all afternoon, but she hasn't been answering her phone."

"Well, you know what they say," Regina stated. "Sometimes, no news is good news."

"Which reminds me," Robin began, visibly concerned. "How…how's Jefferson and little Grace doing? I haven't seen them lately."

* * *

A few miles away, Mr. and Mrs. Grace stepped outside of their home when they saw the familiar blue car pulling up. As they approached the car, the doors opened, allowing Jefferson and Grace to emerge. Without hesitation, Mrs. Grace walked over to the little girl, pulling her into a tight hug.

Wordlessly, Jefferson walked around to the trunk to pull out a large suitcase, which he placed onto the curb. It was only then that he looked over at Grace's cursed parents.

"Thank you again for this," he said.

"There's no need to thank us," Mrs. Grace insisted. "You know she's always welcome here."

"Papa," Grace whispered, turning to look back at him. "Please don't go."

"It'll be okay, Grace," Jefferson insisted, bending down to hug her. "It's only for the time being. With the people from Camelot being out there right now, you'd be much safer staying close to town. I'll sleep better at night knowing you're safe."

"But what about _you?_ " Grace insisted. "Can't you stay closer to town, too? Granny could loan you a room, or…."

"Don't worry about me," Jefferson replied, forcing a smile. "I'll be alright."

Grace was about to continue arguing, but Mr. Grace spoke up before she got the chance.

"Samantha, why don't you take Paige inside?" he asked his wife. "Help her get settled in." Mrs. Grace, catching onto the subtle hint, nodded once before ushering Grace inside.

Once the front door closed, cutting off his view of his daughter, Jefferson turned to go back to his car. But he stopped upon hearing Mr. Grace addressing him.

"Jefferson, wait," he instructed. "We heard about what happened with Belle. While I'm sure you really _are_ doing this out of concern for Paige's wellbeing…it's not wise to try and deal with grief and heartbreak alone. I'm imploring you, for her sake, if nothing else. Don't try to isolate yourself."

Briefly, Jefferson looked back at Mr. Grace, but he did not seem to acknowledge what he said. Instead, he got back into his car and drove off without a word.

However, when he was still only a few blocks away, he was forced to pull over when his vision grew too blurry, keeping him from properly seeing the road. Abruptly, he shoved the shift knob into 'Park,' letting out a shaky breath in the process. All at once, his control finally slipped away, and he leaned his head back, dissolving into loud, broken sobs.


End file.
